The Rising of the Shield Hero: A New Hero
by Unknown user3324
Summary: Instead of being dragged to another world by himself, Naofumi accidentally pulls his best friend along as well. With there now being 5 heroes, a new hero was born. The Dagger Hero.
1. Chapter 1

Shield Hero: A New Addition

(I was thinking, trying to come up with a new fic, and my wonderful mind thought of this. (I'm being a bit sarcastic) Anyways, I hope ya'll like it)

Chapter 1

Waking up to the sun shining through the window, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Yawning, I got to my feet and shut the blinds.

After a quick shower and breakfast, I began heading to the library. Stratching the back of my head, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hm?" I looked over to see my best, and only friend, Naofumi Iwatani. "Oh, 'sup, man?"

"You're up early." he said.

"Yeah, forgot to close my blinds last night so the sun shone directly on my eyes." I shrugged. "Where you headed?"

"The library." he replied.

"Yeah? Same."

"Since when do you read books?" he chuckled.

"I don't." I crossed my arms. "I go there for the manga."

"Right. Well, this time I can show you some _real _books." he smirked.

"Sure, you can show me what a '_real_' book is."

Heading for the library, the two of us walked in. Naofumi went into one of the aisles as I went over to the manga. Glancing over the titles, I came across one that seemed interesting. Reaching for it, I heard a crash come from one of the aisles. Curious, I went over to the source to see Naofumi with a couple of books around his feet. He knelt down and picked one up of the books.

"Did you have to knock half of the bookshelf over with you for one book?" I joked as I went over to him.

"Shut up." he shook his head as he opened the book and began reading it. "Huh..."

"What's up?" I looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading.

"In order to save the world from the waves of apocalyptic catastrophe, four heroes will be summoned from another world." Naofumi read.

"Waves of apocalyptic catastrophe?"

"Dunno, but I'm kinda interested." Naofumi turned the page. "Each hero wields a distinctive weapon. A sword, a spear, a bow, or a shield. Yeah, but a shield's not really a weapon."

"It can be."

Naofumi just shrugged before continuing. "Anyway, where's the heroine in this thing?"

"Ah, so you read for the ladies 'cause you can't get any, huh?" I nudged his arm.

"Says the guy that still hasn't gotten his first kiss."

Frowning, I crossed my arms. "Point taken."

"Yeah, well, at least these hero guys look pretty damn cool and impressive." Naofumi flipped through a few pages. "Guess all four of them are the main protagonists. Spotlight's on sword, spear and bow. Even the shield hero gets..." he turned the page, only to see it was blank.

"What the hell?"

The pages began flipping by themselves, a yellow glow coming from them. Placing my hand on Naofumi's shoulder, I tried to pull him away, only for the two of us to begin falling.

Yelling in surprise, I hit the floor after a few seconds. "What just happened?" I stood up, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Fantastic! The summoning was a success." I looked over to see a group of people in robes standing before us. "Brave heroes, won't you please save our world from pure evil?"

"What?" I looked to my left to see three people I didn't recognize. One of them was holding a sword, one was holding a spear, and the third was holding a bow. Looking down, I noticed I was gripping the hilt of a... "A knife?"

"That's actually a dagger." the bow wielder told me.

"Where am I?" Naofumi stood up. "What the hell is this?" he held out his right arm, a small shield attached to it.

"That's a shield." I snapped my fingers. "I'da thought you'd know that."

"Please o' brave heroes. Our world is in dire need of saving." the robe leader said.

"What are you talking about?"

"The story behind it all is long and complicated. But suffice it to say, that you are the four cardinal heroes. And you were summoned here using an ancient ritual." the robe leader said.

"Four? But there's five of us." I crossed my arms.

"Our world is in a most fragile state and teeters on the brink of destruction. So we beg you, o' brave heroes, please lend us your aid."

"I guess I could at least hear you guys out." Naofumi said.

"Forget it." the sword hero said.

"I also refuse." the bow hero agreed.

"You can send us back to our home world right? Do that and maybe we'll talk." the spear hero said.

"You brought the five of us here without our consent. Don't you even feel the least bit guilty about it?" the sword hero pointed the tip of his blade at them.

"Not to mention, if you throw us out as soon as we restore peace, we'd have done all that work for nothing." the bow hero said.

"How willing are you to accommodate our requests? Depending on your answer, we may end up as your enemies instead of your allies." the spear hero added.

Rolling my eyes, I began tossing my dagger into the air and catching it as something to do with my hand. "Good sirs, before I say anymore, we'd like you to have an audience with the king of Melromarc. You can negotiate your rewards with him directly, so please."

"All right, fine." the sword hero lowered his weapon.

"I suppose we'll consider your offer."

"Sure. Doesn't matter who we talk to, our demands won't change." the spear hero added.

"Sheesh." Naofumi tapped my arm, causing me to stop tossing my dagger.

"Hm?" I glanced at him.

"Still barely paying attention, huh?" he shook his head. "C'mon."

"Nah, I was paying attention, there just wasn't anything I wanted to say."

"Sure." he motioned for me to follow him.

Following the men in robes through the courtyard, we eventually came to the throne room. And there, sitting on one of the two thrones, was the king. "So, you young men are the...five cardinal heroes of ancient legend? This is the land of Melromarc and I am her king, Aultcray Melromarc the 32nd. Welcome, brave heroes. Please identify yourselves."

"Ren Amaki." the sword hero said. "I'm a highschool student and I'm 16 years old."

"I'm Motoyasu Kitamura." the spear hero said. "College student, 21."

"I suppose I'm up next. Itsuki Kawasumi." the bow hero said. "Still in highschool and I'm 17."

I stepped forward. "Mercury Takamaki. College student, 19."

"Guess that leaves me." Naofumi stepped up. "My name is-"

"Good." the king cut him off. "Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki and Mercury."

"Yo, king." Naofumi got his attention. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"Oh, yes, forgive me."

"Hey, you can't just say 'yo, king'. You have to address him with a little respect." Itsuki said.

"So, what then? His majesty?" Naofumi asked.

"Might be too formal." I replied.

"King, is fine." the king said.

"All right. Whatever you prefer. I'm Naofumi Iwatani. College student, 20 years old."

"Now, then I suppose I need to explain why we've brought you here." the king said. "My beloved country of Melromarc and the entire world surrounding it are heading down a path to certain ruin. We underestimated the potency of the waves. Once we actually experienced the first one and barely survived, we realized that only the four, now five, cardinal heroes could counter them. So, we followed the legend and summoned you five. But now, we have no time to lose."

"Okay, I think we get the gist of it." Ren said. "Anyway, I'm sure you didn't bring us here thinking we'd save you for free."

"Of course not." some old guy said. "Once you repel all of the waves, I can assure you we shall reward you most handsomely."

"Yeah? Well it would seem we have no choice but to take you at your word." Motoyasu said.

"As long as you don't reneg, we'll work with you." Ren added. "But don't think for a moment that you can tame us."

"Exactly. We won't put up with you looking down on us." Itsuki said.

"Right. What these guys said."

"If I can trust that we have reached an agreeable arrangement, I would ask you brave heroes to now check your statuses." the king said.

"Wait, what's a status?" Naofumi asked.

"Um, yeah."

"Are you guys dense? It should have been the very first thing you noticed when we got here." Ren said. "Don't you see the icon in the lower right corner of your vision? Try focusing your attention on it."

Seeing the icon, I did as told and a small menu popped up. "Level 1...dagger hero?"

"Level 1? That's really disconcerting, isn't it?" Itsuki said.

"Yeah, no kidding. Who can tell if we can even fight like this?" Motoyasu said.

"What is all this, exactly?" Naofumi asked.

"It's called status magic. An ability exclusive to the heroes."

"So where do we go?" I asked.

"You must set out on an adventure to develop and upgrade these legendary weapons."

"They weren't already maxed out when we got 'em?" Naofumi asked. "Also, mine's not even technically a weapon."

"Can't we just wield other weapons until these are usable?" Motoyasu asked.

"Suppose we'll have to figure that out as we go." Ren said. "Regardless, it looks like we've all got a lot of training ahead of us."

"We'll have to level up hard and fast."

"Then once the five of us feel like we're ready, we can form a party and-"

"One moment, brave heroes. I neglected to mention you must each recruit allies and adventure separately." the old guy said.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"It is said that by their nature the legendary weapons repel one another. If you try and work together, it will apparently hinder their development."

"Looks like he's telling the truth." Naofumi said.

"Since the sun is about to set, rest here for the night and begin your quest tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll gather the best of the best to form your parties." the king said.

Tossing my dagger in the air, a woman approached us. "We have quarters prepared for you all. Please, sirs, right this way."

A few minutes later

The other heroes insisted on the five of us talk, but I wasn't interested. So, I went to my own room. I don't really care about getting to know people, especially with how demanding the other three were. I'm not what you would call a "people person."

Falling into the bed, I closed my eyes and drifted off.

The following day

Standing in the throne room, there was a line of people in front of us. "We have gathered the greatest warriors in the land. These brave souls will fight the waves along side you."

The five of us took a step forward. "Our future champions, the time has come to begin your journey." the line of people approached us.

Tossing my dagger and catching it, I didn't really care if someone joined my party or not. In all honesty, I prefer being by myself.

Catching my dagger, I placed a hand on my hip just as a girl walked in front of me. She was kinda short and had her hands clasped behind her back. She seemed extremely nervous.

Looking up at me, our eyes met. Her eyes are a crystal blue and her hair is a bright purple. She gave a nervous smile before moving behind me.

Shrugging, I continued tossing and catching my dagger. "Wha- huh?!" I looked over to see Naofumi with no one behind him. "1 there. 3 there. 5 there. 4 there?! Yo, king!"

"I am loathed to admit it, but even I was not expecting this." the king said.

"No volunteers? He must have zero charisma."

A man walked next to the king and whispered something in his ear. "I've been made aware of an unsettling rumor."

"Has something happened, sir?"

"Not exactly. The rumor that is quickly spreading around town is that the so called shield hero is ignorant of this world." the king explained.

"What?!"

"The legend tells us the heroes arrive with a firm understanding of our land. And the townspeople seem to think he doesn't meet that criteria." the king said.

"Regardless, you don't need 5 Ren! How about you give a couple of them to me!" Naofumi said.

"I'm a loner, you're right. I don't need them. Whoever cannot cut it gets left behind." Ren told his group.

"Motoyasu, help me out! Don't you think this is unfair?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised my party is all girls, too." he replied while rubbing the back of his head.

"It might seem to be the most fair if we split them up as evenly as possible. But if we try to force the issue it could destroy everybody's morale." Itsuki said.

"Mercury?"

Seeing his desperation, I just shrugged. "Not really my choice, man."

"So, what? You're telling me I just have to go it alone?!" Naofumi said.

"Look, Naofumi," I stopped when I noticed a hand raised.

"Sir, hero." a redheaded girl walked up to him from Motoyasu's group. "Would you kindly allow me to switch parties and join the shield hero?"

"Are you sure?"

"I am!" the girl nodded.

"There you go, dude!" I tossed my dagger again. "Anyways, king, may I be dismissed to begin my quest?"

"You may." he nodded.

"Thanks." turning around, I began heading out of the castle.

End of chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 2

Out in a field, me and my teammate were fighting some sort of balloon creatures with eyes and sharp teeth. They were pretty easy to pop, and I was level 2 before I knew it.

Opening my skill menu, a few skills popped up. "Hm..." I began reading them off. "Dagger throw. Fire dagger. Quick throw?" I pressed it and it lit up. "Okay..." getting to my feet, I looked down at my dagger. "Quick throw!" I threw my dagger a few feet away. Once it touched the grass, I was immediately moved to where it landed, my weapon in my hand. "Whoa!" I had a bit of trouble keeping my balance from the speed.

Hearing the sound of crunching grass behind me, I glanced back to see my teammate. "Oh, hey." I said. she looked up at me and gave a smile. Reaching behind her, she showed me a handful of balloon scraps. "Whoa! Nice work." looking back to her, I noticed her hair had changed from purple to red. "Uh...wasn't your hair just purple?"

She reached back and pulled a strand of hair so she could look. Seeing her hair was now red, she suddenly stiffened up. Her hair now slowly changed from red to pink, her cheeks also turned a soft pink.

"Your hair changes color." I stated. "That's pretty cool!" Once I said that, her hair changed back to red, a smile spreading across her lips.

Looking up, I realized just how late it's actually gotten. "We should probably find somewhere to sleep, huh?" I looked to my teammate who just nodded in reply. "You hungry?"

She quickly nodded rapidly.

Minutes later

Finding a nice little Inn, I ordered some food for the two of us. The waitress took our order before heading to grab it. "So," I leaned forward. "I never got your name."

Her hair suddenly turned purple as her eyes widened. "I don't think I've heard you talk either." as I said that, she looked down. Waiting a few seconds, she still didn't speak. "Do you...not want to speak?" I asked. She shook her head. "Okay... _Can _you speak?" she shook her head again. "Oh." I rubbed the back of my head. "Do you...know how to write?" she nodded. "Good! I'll grab a pen and paper, and that way, we can communicate."

She looked up at me, her hair turning red again.

Standing up, I went over to the bar and got something to write on and something to write with. Heading back to the table, I handed them over to my teammate. "So, let's start with your name and age."

She nodded as she began writing something down. After a few seconds, she handed me the paper. "Makoto Lionheart, 17." I read. "Pretty name." she smiled. "Okay, I'm curious." she slowly nodded, her hair turning grey. "Your hair. Why does it change color?"

She took the paper back and began writing again. After another few seconds, she handed it back over. "It's a spell." I read. "My hair changes color to match my current mood. Red means I'm happy, green shows that I'm sick, pink is...embarrassed. It turns blue when I'm sad, white when I'm scared, black when I'm mad, purple when I'm nervous, and grey when I'm confused or thinking hard. There are probably a few more I'm not sure of, too." I lowered the paper to see her staring at me. "That's a pretty neat spell. I'm assuming whoever put it on you did so to make communication a bit easier?"

She nodded in reply.

"Speaking of which, why can't you speak?"

She again took the paper from me and began writing. After just a few seconds, she returned it. "I was born like this."

The waitress suddenly came back and put our food on the table. Thanking her, the two of us began to eat. After finishing our food, we went upstairs and into our room. There were two beds and a desk between them.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow will be pretty tough."

She nodded before taking off her weapon, knee high boots, and purple cloak, placing them on the desk and sliding into bed. Doing the same, I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes.

The following day

Hearing a loud bang on the door, I sat up and went over to open it. There, standing in the hall, was one of the castle guards. "The king requests the presence of all five heroes." he said.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The shield hero is being put on trial."

End of chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 3

Inside the castle

Walking through the doors into the throne room, I saw Naofumi surrounded by half a dozen guards, each pointing their weapons at him. The other three heroes and their parties were present as well. "Yo, Naofumi!" I rushed up to get a better look. "The Hell's goin' on, man?"

He didn't even seem to notice me as he looked right to the king. "Yo, king, while I was sleeping, all the money and equipment I had, other than this shield, was stolen from my room. Please, find the thief and-"

"Silence, you filth!" the king suddenly boomed.

"What's this about?"

"Myne, I'm sorry to ask, my dear. But would you mind repeating your testimony for us again?" the king asked.

Myne took a few shaky breaths before speaking. "It happened last night. The shield hero force his way into my room, he was stinking drunk! He grabbed me and pinned me down!"

Naofumi got to his feet. "Huh?!"

"He said something like, 'the night is still young' and then the next thing I knew, he was tearing all my clothes off." Myne added.

"What?"

"Somehow I managed to escape. I ran down the hall for help, and I found sir Motoyasu, who happened to being staying at the same Inn!" Myne continued.

"What the hell?!"

"If she hadn't asked me to wait until dawn and called the knights, I woulda glady cut you down myself!" Motoyasu said.

"What are you talking about? I went straight to bed after dinner last night and I don't drink!" Naofumi said.

"He's right." I stepped forward, getting everyone's attention. "I've known Naofumi basically since birth. He would never do what you're accusing him of." I narrowed my eyes.

"See?!" Naofumi gestured to me.

"He's covering for him!" Myne shouted.

"We can't believe a thing you say!" Motoyasu shouted. "You'd say anything to get your best friend out of trouble."

"To think the cardinal shield hero would commit the greatest sin in this country." the king said.

"Sin?"

"In Melromarc, even intended sexual assault on a woman is punishable by death." one of the king's advisors said.

"If you weren't a hero, you'd be executed at once!" the king waved his hand.

"Executed?!" Naofumi repeated. "I promise you, I'm the one being wronged here, not her. I didn't do it! And you're so convinced I did, then show me some proof!" as he said that, a guard walked up and knelt down.

"When we performed a search of the shield hero's room, we, um, we found this, sir. Strewn across his bed." he held up a purple night gown.

Myne covered her face as Motoyasu blocked her. "You animal!"

"The proof seems rather undeniable." the king stated.

"How so?!" Naofumi shouted. "That thing wasn't there when I woke up!"

"What a terrible shame." Itsuki said. "I worried something bad might happen but hoped you knew better."

"Guess he thinks a hero could do whatever the hell he wants and get away with it." Ren added.

"That's not even the least bit true!" Naofumi replied. He looked back at me.

"This world is not some consequence free playground for you." Motoyasu said. "Know your place, scoundrel!"

"This is some bullshit!" I stepped forward, only for a guard to turn his spear from Naofumi to me. Looking down at it, I looked up and glared at the guard. Looking passed him and towards Myne, I knew this bitch was lying.

She moved her hands away from her eyes, a grin plastered across her lips. She stuck her tongue out and pulled the bottom part of her eyelid down a bit with her index finger. "Oh, you redheaded bitch!"

"It was a setup from the very beginning!" Naofumi stated as he got to his feet, grabbing two of the guards spears but not being able to move passed them.

"I'm scared, sir Motoyasu!" Myne pushed herself against him.

"Shut your mouths!" Motoyasu ordered.

"Up yours, pretty boy! You did all this to steal my money and equipment! I'll bet you two planned it together!" Naofumi growled.

"Refusing to admit he's guilty and making nonsensical accusations?" Ren said.

"I know what you're thinking, and you're right! He doesn't deserve a shred of mercy." Itsuki added.

"I knew it. It was a mistake to summon all four at once." one of the people watching said. "Especially with the addition of this 'dagger hero'."

"Exactly! They shouldn't have summoned the shield hero at all!"

"But who could've known he'd be such scum?"

"Fine. I don't care anymore. And why should I?! Just send us back to our world. Summon a new shield hero or whatever you want, I'm out! Screw this world! Seriously! Why did I get ripped away from my home just to go through this?!" Naofumi said.

"So you're just going to run away as soon as things start to get tough?" Ren asked. "You really are scum!"

"After all you've done, how could you even think about abandoning your job?" Itsuki asked.

"I say let the cowards run on home. Who wants to fight alongside a rapist? Good riddance."

"Shut up!" Naofumi shouted. Clenching my fists, I resisted the urge to use my dagger against everyone in this room. "Now, send us back to our world this instant!"

"Believe me, I would like nothing more than to kick you out. But legend says that no new heroes may be summoned until all four of the original cardinal heroes meet their end." the king explained.

"What'd he say?"

"That's insane."

"This is bullshit!" I growled.

"So, you're tell me we can't go home?" Naofumi asked.

"Not yet. But there is only one way you may return home." the king said. "Fight off all the incoming waves."

"But sir, does that mean we'll have to fight alongside a criminal like them?" Motoyasu asked.

"Screw you, guys!" Naofumi growled. "Who needs you? I'll figure out how to handle the waves my way!" he pushed the guards away as he stood up straight.

"Don't move!" the guards rushed back to surround him.

"Get the hell off of me!" Naofumi's shield glowed as he knocked them back again. "What'll it be king? Are you gonna have us rot in jail in between every wave?"

"There's no more time before the next wave so I won't be imprisoning you. Scum or not, you're both still heroes. And one of the only beings left that can fight them all off." the king replied. "But news of your crime has already spread among the people. That is your punishment. You should never expect to be allowed to lead a decent life in this country!"

"Yeah, clearly!" he walked passed me and I immediately followed. As he walked, the sound of change rattled a bit. Pulling a handful out, he looked at his fist before turning back to Myne and Motoyasu. "This is what you wanted, right? Shove it up your ass!" he threw the coins at their feet before walking away again.

"Hey, wait, one second!" Motoyasu rushed over and reached for Naofumi's wrist. In one quick motion, I grabbed Motoyasu's wrist instead and turned him around, pulling his arm behind his back, causing him to wince.

"I'm the weak one, remember?" Naofumi said as he continued to walk away. "I don't have a second to waste."

Seeing him walk out of the room, I pushed Motoyasu away before following Naofumi. Approaching the door, I walked by Makoto who saw the whole thing. Her hair was a snow white. Stopping for a second, I spoke. "You can come with me if you want." I said before continuing my way out of the castle.

Hearing soft footsteps behind me, I glanced back to see Makoto with her head bowed, following me. She had her hands clasped and her hair was still white.

Reaching the main floor of the castle, I stopped, feeling Makoto bump into my back. "Makoto." I said. "Everything you saw back there wasn't true. Naofu- the shield hero would never do what he was accused of. Believe me, he's a good guy." I glanced back to see her hair had changed to grey.

"C'mon. Let's catch up with him."

End of chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 4

Walking through the town, I saw Naofumi pressed up against a wall, some bald guy about to hit him. Walking over, the guy suddenly let him go. "What gives? Thought you were all ready to punch me." Naofumi said.

"I changed my mind."

"Good. You were about to lose your life there." Naofumi said before walking away.

"Hold up a second." the bald guy said, getting Naofumi to stop.

"What's going on?" I asked, my hand placed on the hilt of my dagger.

"Come with me, kid." the bald guy went into an alley and Naofumi followed. Shrugging, I went with him.

"You won't make it very far dressed like that." the bald guy said, handing a green cloak to Naofumi. "Consider this a parting gift."

"How much?"

"Doesn't matter since you're broke but let's call it a clearance sale and say 5 copper."

"Yeah, fine." Naofumi took the cloak and put it on. "I'll come pay ya some day." he then glanced at me. "We should probably split up for a bit, Merc." he told me. "We can't level up together."

"But-"

"Just go train." he cut me off. "I'm glad I can still rely on you." he began to walk away.

"Of course, man." seeing him disappear around the corner, I took a step in the opposite direction.

"So, you're the new hero, huh?" the bald guy asked.

I stopped in my tracks. "Yeah, I'm the new hero." I crossed my arms. "What do you want?"

"Since you're a friend of the shield hero, you're probably known as his accomplice. Here." he reached back and pulled out another cloak. This one was a dark red.

"Thanks." I took it and put it on. Reaching for some money, I handed over 5 copper. "You got any equipment I could use?"

"Yeah, come with me." he led me to his shop and we walked inside. "Choose what you like and pay up front."

Walking around the store, I browsed some armor and a possible second weapon. I knew that all I could use was a dagger, but maybe I could use two.

Seeing some armor that stuck out to me, I took it off the rack and looked it over. It looked like it would belong to a bandit. The pants were black and the shirt matched my cloak. The fur around the hood was black, along with the fur on the thighs of the pants.

"Like that one?" the bald guy asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I'll take it." looking back at Makoto, she watched me. "Why don't you pick something out as well?" she nodded before walking around the store.

Walking up to the front, I saw some weapons on the rack behind the bald guy. "Get me your best dagger and sword." I told him.

"Sure." he turned around and pulled one dagger and one sword off the wall. "Here."

Picking up the dagger, I gave it a quick swing to feel its balance. It felt nice. "How much?"

"200 silver for the armor. 100 silver for the dagger. And 150 silver for the sword." he replied. Feeling a tap on my arm, I looked back to see Makoto holding a single piece of armor. It had a short sleeve shirt under the breastplate and ended in a skirt. The shirt was purple with black accents.

"How much for this?" I asked the shopkeep.

"50 silver." Reaching for my coin bag, I took out 500 silver pieces and handed them over. "There's some changing rooms right over there." he pointed out.

Me and Makoto each took one room and changed into our new armor. It fit perfectly and matched my dark hair pretty well.

Walking out of the changing room, I went over to the counter and picked up my second dagger, placing it in its sheath just as Makoto walked over. I was pretty speechless at how good her armor looked on her. She even had her hair tied back in a ponytail. "It looks great on you." as I said that, her hair turned red. "I, uh, also got you this sword." I gestured to it on the counter.

She walked over and picked it up, looking it over before placing it in its sheath. She looked to me and smiled.

Looking to the shopkeep, he smirked. "We'll be back. Thanks, by the way." I told him as we left.

"Of course."

Leaving the store, Makoto followed me out. As I took a step outside, I ran a hand through my hair as I let out a sigh. "What now? We could use some more money, and we also need to level up. But I'm not too sure what to do." I looked back to Makoto. "Any ideas?"

She just shrugged in reply.

"I guess we could look for a few jobs, maybe..." I scratched the back of my head. "Then again, if people know I backed up Naofumi, they might want nothing to do with us." I let out a sigh. "Screw it. Let's just go kill some monsters."

A few minutes later

Out in the field, me and Makoto were fighting more of those balloon things. It wasn't long before I reached level 3. Then level 4. They were easy to defeat, but didn't give shit for XP.

"We need to find somethin' stronger." I began tossing and catching my dagger. "Any ideas where higher level monsters'll be?" I asked, looking to Makoto. Her hair turned grey as she placed her index finger on her chin in thought. After a few seconds, she shook her head, her hair changing from grey to a golden yellow. "Yellow? What's yellow mean?"

Makoto pulled a strand of hair in her line of sight before looking to me. She then gestured with her hands for a piece of paper and a pen. "I don't have anything to write with at the moment." I shrugged. She let out a 'sigh' but there wasn't any noise.

"Anyways, maybe if we head into the forest, we'll find some creatures to kill." I suggested. "Or should we just call it a night and continue in the morning?" I looked back to Makoto for an answer. She shrugged before holding up two fingers. "Stop for now?" I asked. She nodded in reply. "All right, then." I placed my daggers in their sheathes. "Let's find some place to rest up." I glanced at the sky to see it was covered in dark clouds. "It's gonna rain."

Minutes later

Making our way back to town, I began searching for an Inn to stay at. Seeing a pretty decent place, I went over to the doors and walked inside just as it began to sprinkle. Heading for the front counter, I pulled my hood off and ruffled my hair a bit. "Room for 2?" I asked, reaching into my pocket for some coins.

"You're the dagger hero, right?" the girl behind the desk asked. I noticed she was looking at my weapons.

Narrowing my eyes, I was already guessing she was gonna cause some sorta problem. "So what if I am?" I crossed my arms.

"I heard you backed the shield hero up when he was on trial." she said.

"Look, lady, I just want a room and to get some sleep." I told her. "Not lookin' to cause problems."

She just stared at me for a few seconds before shrugging. "1 silver. First door down that hall and on the right." she pointed to the hall.

"Thanks." I pulled out a piece of silver and handed it over to her. "C'mon, Makoto." I gestured for her to follow me.

Walking down the hall, I opened the door to our room and gestured for Makoto to head inside. Following her in, I shut and locked the door behind me. "Guess I was right: siding with Naofumi is gonna cause me some trouble in the near future." I walked over to the desk and sat down. "I don't give a damn, though. I'd back him up a million times over."

Makoto sat on one of the beds, her hands folded on her lap. She had already taken her boots, armor and cloak off, leaving her in just her dress and socks. "Makoto?" I said softly. "You're sure about coming with me?"

She nodded her head.

"Why?" I asked. "Why travel with someone that you know will cause potential problems?"

Makoto stood up and walked over to me. She sat down on the opposite side of the desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil. She began writing, and after a few seconds, she handed the paper over to me. _"I want to come with you, because you're a friend of the shield hero." _I read to myself. _"The previous shield hero helped my kind in the past."_

"Your kind?" I asked, looking up to Makoto. She didn't say anything as she tapped the paper.

_"I know that the shield hero is innocent, because I saw that woman taunt you two. But even before then I knew he was telling the truth."_

"So you saw her, huh?" I asked. Makoto nodded as she took the paper and pencil. "But what did you mean by 'your kind'?" she already began writing before I even asked.

After a few seconds, she returned the paper.

_"I don't know if you've noticed, but there are other beings here in Melromarc that aren't exactly human. They have parts of an animal, mostly just animal ears and tail. But they're treated horribly. Chained up like some feral animal. They're called Demihumans, and I am one of them."_

Looking up from the paper, I saw a pair of fox ears sitting on Makoto's head. And behind her, a fluffy fox tail slowly waving back and forth.

End of chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 5

I was speechless. I never even noticed. "Makoto, how..?" she took the paper back and began writing. Not long after, she slid it back.

_"I've lived in Melromarc for 17 years. In that time, I've learned how to hide them pretty well." _looking up from the paper, Makoto had a grin plastered across her face. "Pretty well is an understatement."

She took the paper back from me and began writing. After a couple more seconds, she gave it back. _"My family always lived in Melromarc and they tought me plenty of tricks to blend my ears in with my hair. The tail was a bit more difficult. I had to keep it going up my back and as still as possible. But, I learned and now, I can hide them whenever I want." _looking up from the paper, her ears and tail were magically gone. Watching her, her ears suddenly sprung up and her tail moved back into sight. "Why hide them?" I asked.

She gestured to the paper.

_"Demihumans here in Melromarc are slaves. So, to avoid becoming one myself, I hide my ears and tail. My family was never able to afford moving out of this place, and after some time, my parents were...taken. I had to fend for myself. And when I heard guards were looking for adventurers to help the heroes, I had to go to see if I couldn't join the shield hero. But, when I saw you, I knew you were the one I had to pick. There's...something special about you."_

I placed the paper down gently. "I'm...sorry that happened to you." Makoto just nodded in response. "Do you...wish you could just be yourself?" I asked. She, again, nodded her head. "Maybe..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't know. Maybe we can find some way for you to walk around without having to hide who you are."

Makoto nodded before yawning. "We should get some sleep." I said.

She stood up and walked over to one of the beds. Doing the same myself, I took off my armor, cloak and boots, placing them on the floor next to the bed before laying down. "Goodnight, Makoto."

I closed my eyes and drifted off.

The next day

Heading into the woods, I wasn't sure what to expect. "Any clue what to expect here?" I asked, glancing back at Makoto. She shrugged in reply. "Awesome."

Pulling out my weapons, we began walking through the woods, looking for anything that we could fight.

After what felt like forever, we didn't run into any monsters. It was surprisingly quiet, the only sound was the twigs and leaves crunching beneath our boots. That, and the wind blowing through the trees.

After a few more feet, I could hear the faint sound of...something. "Do you hear that?" I glanced back at Makoto. She stopped to listen for a second before shaking her head. "There's something here."

I scanned around the trees, a massive wave of uneasiness running through me. Making our way to the sound, it got more clear. It sounded a bit like...growling?

Pushing through some bushes, the sound was almost on top of us but immediately stopped. Looking down, there was a fluffy white bunny scratching its ear. "There's no way a bunny was making that noise. Right?" I looked back to Makoto to see she was staring at something to our right. Looking at what she was, I saw the head of a massive dog peeking out through a bush. It hunched down and pounced on the bunny, immediately tearing into it.

Falling on our backs, the dog slowly turned to us after it was finished with its meal. Once it was facing us, I saw it had 3 heads. I could also see its level and name. "Level 20...Cerberus..."

Seeing the beast get ready to pounce, I rolled out of the way but saw Makoto still laying there, her eyes filled with fear and her hair a snow white. "Makoto!"

She didn't even react.

Seeing the monster about to pounce, I tossed my second dagger and caught it by the blade before hurling it into the beast's side. The giant dog didn't even budge as the weapon sunk into it's side, still focused on Makoto.

Rushing to help, I pulled out my main weapon. "Fire dagger!" the blade lit up with fire as I sunk it into the beast. This time, I got its attention.

As it turned to me, it swung its paw, knocking me back. Hitting my back against a tree, I fell onto my stomach, coughing up some blood as I looked to see the Cerberus turning back to Makoto.

"Damnit!" getting to my feet, I threw my dagger next to Makoto. Popping up next to her, I picked her up, and my dagger, and jumped out of the way just as the Cerberus tried to bite down. "You okay?" I asked her.

She didn't even blink. "Makoto, you gotta-" feeling a sharp pain in my right shoulder, I was ripped away. Digging my feet into the dirt, I could feel its teeth tear through my skin with every small movement.

As I tried to get free, I used my dagger and thrust it into one of its necks, ripping it to the side and feeling my clothes get soaked in blood. It finally let go as it howled in pain.

Stepping to attack again, the pain in my shoulder caused me to fall to one knee. "Damnit..." looking up, the Cerberus stalked towards me, one of its heads limp and lifeless. Closing my eyes, I waited for it to finish me off but it never came. Instead, I heard it howl.

Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Makoto with her sword through one of the necks of the remaining heads, her hair a pitch black. Clenching her teeth, she ripped her sword free and ducked under its paw as it tried to swipe at her and in one quick spin, she cut the last head clean off.

Some time later

Back in our room at the Inn, I felt the tug of thread as Makoto stitched up my wound for me. I was scrolling through my skill menu, eager to get some more abilities after our fight with that 3 headed mutt. It gave us quite a bit of XP. So much, in fact, that we jumped from level 4 to level 13.

Wincing as I felt the needle pierce my skin, I felt the thread pull again before the needle went through my skin once more. "Isn't there some sort of medicine that'll heal this or something?" I asked.

Makoto replied by pushing the needle through my skin again. "That's a 'no' then?" closing my menu, I waited for her to finish.

Minutes later

Feeling her finally finish stitching my shoulder up, I grabbed my shirt and pulled it on. "Thank you."

Makoto gave a soft smile before her hair slowly turned blue. She looked up at me as her eyes began to tear up. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my chest.

"Hey, what's this for?" I asked. She didn't move. Returning the hug, we stayed like this for a few seconds before she slowly pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Let's get some rest, okay?"

She nodded before sliding into bed.

End of chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 6

One week later

Walking through the streets of Melromarc, I could tell everyone was on edge since the first wave could come any day now. As we walked, I heard a familiar voice. "Mercury, that you?"

I glanced back to see Naofumi walking towards me. Alongside him was a gorgeous demihuman with raccoon ears and tail. "Hey, man. What's up?" I noticed he was wearing some sort of barbarian armor. Somewhat like mine but...green. "I like the new look."

"Yeah..." he rubbed the back of his head. "Been pretty busy."

"I'd bet. I also see that you have a new friend." I turned to his teammate. Holding my hand out, the girl placed her hand in mine. "Mercury."

"Raphtalia." she replied.

"Pleasure to meet you."

She smiled before pulling her hand away. "So, Naofumi, where'd you meet her?"

"Oh, uh, I actually found her...in a slave trade..?" he rubbed the back of his head.

"She's a slave?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Master Naofumi treats me really well." Raphtalia told me. "I don't want you getting the wrong idea."

"I know he wouldn't do anything suspect. I've known him since birth, basically." I told her. "But I guess after what happened, you didn't really have a choice but to get a slave, huh, Naofumi?"

"Yeah...not proud of it, but yeah."

"Oh, I wanted to ask, have you figured out what these 'legendary' weapons can do?" I pulled out my dagger. "I'm not entirely sure how mine works."

"I don't know about your dagger, but I can put ingredients, plants, a piece of a monster, you name it, into the jewel on my shield and I get some sort of power from what it takes in." he told me. "Pretty useful."

"Huh." I noticed a small jewel on the bottom of the hilt. "You mean this?" he nodded in reply. "Guess I'll have to try that some time." I sheathed my weapon. "Thanks, man."

"Yeah, anytime."

"So, where ya headed?" I asked.

"We were just about to head to the Dragon hourglass." Naofumi replied.

"Dragon hourglass?"

"So no one told you either." he shrugged. "The Dragon hourglass counts down until the wave. We're about to go see how much time we have left to prepare."

"Wanna come with us?" Raphtalia offered.

"Sure."

Following Naofumi, we headed for the church of the 3 heroes. Heading inside, one of the priestesses took us to the hourglass. It was massive.

Looking up at the hourglass, a beam of light suddenly shot out from Naofumi's shield to the hourglass. Once the beam faded, a number appeared on the hourglass, counting down. "20 hours before the wave? Is that even-"

"Is that Naofumi I see?"

I saw Naofumi turn to see who it was. Taking a deep breath, I slowly let it out. "...shit."

Turning around, there, standing a few feet away, was Motoyasu, Myne, and the rest of his party. Along with him was Ren and Itsuki. "Don't tell me you're still using that flimsy equipment."

"Do you know who these people are, master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked. Naofumi didn't reply as he went to walk by.

"Hey, sir Motoyasu is talking to you, Naofumi." Myne said.

"And no one was talking to you." I shot back as I followed Naofumi.

Naofumi stopped when he saw Ren and Itsuki, gritting his teeth at them. "Hi, there." I looked back to see Motoyasu talking to Raphtalia. "I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, the spear hero. Nice to meet ya."

"You're a hero?" Raphtalia asked.

"Wow, you're cute." Motoyasu said as he placed his hands around Raphtalia's.

"Huh?"

"Why are you praising a demihuman, sir Motoyasu?" Myne growled.

"A girl as adorable as you shouldn't have to wield a sword. Allow me to protect you from-."

I walked over and gripped Motoyasu's wrist, forcing him to let go of Raphtalia's hands. "She's already in a party with Naofumi."

Motoyasu just glared at me before yanking his arm away. "We're outta here." Naofumi took Raphtalia's hand and began leaving.

"Come on. You're not gonna tell me you haven't heard any of those rumors going around about him." Motoyasu said.

Naofumi stopped in his tracks. "Rumors?" Naofumi grit his teeth before continuing to walk.

"See you when the wave hits." Itsuki said.

"Just stay out of our way." Ren told him.

Glaring at Motoyasu, he just smirked. "You're a piece of shit, you know that?" I told him before heading for the exit.

Passing by Itsuki, I heard him say something under his breath. "Why let him drag you down, too? You're not the one who forced himself on a woman."

"What did you say?" I turned to face him.

"He's right." Ren agreed. "You don't have to be known as-"

"Screw the both of you!" I growled. "Naofumi is more trustworthy than anyone else in this damn country! You know what? If Naofumi did force himself on Myne, you'd think she'd be more scared of him. But instead, she's acting like a bitchy ex-girlfriend." I pushed my shoulder into Itsuki's as I walked by. "See you pricks during the wave."

The following night

Pacing back and forth, I was still pissed at those other 3 'heroes'. Makoto was sitting on the bed, her hands placed on her lap. I didn't say anything, too pissed to know what to say.

Feeling a hand grab mine, I looked over to see Makoto staring at me, her hair white. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." she shook her head. "Huh?"

She kept staring at me. After a few seconds, I realized her eyes weren't filled with fear but with worry. "I'm okay." I told her.

She looked to the bed and patted the spot next to her. Deciding it'd be best to try and calm down, I sat down next to her.

As I sat down, I felt her gently place her hand on my head, gently pulling. "What are you-?" not fighting it, she laid my head down on her lap and began gently stroking my hair.

I felt all my anger disappear like it was never there. All my worries, gone. I felt...comfortable. Like everything I ever wanted was right here.

And before I knew it, I passed out.

End of chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 7

Waking up to the sun in my eyes, I realized pretty quickly my head was still resting on Makoto's lap. Looking up, I saw her eyes were closed and she was breathing softly. Gently poking her cheek, her eyes fluttered open.

Looking at each other, we shared a smile. Standing up, Makoto did the same. "You sleep well?" I asked. She gave a nod in reply. "Well, uh, thanks. For last night." I rubbed the back of my head. "I was pretty pissed and you calmed me down. So, thanks."

She just smiled as she got to her feet. "Ready to go?" I asked. She nodded again. We grabbed our gear and left the Inn.

Walking around town, I could sense the wave was about to strike any minute. Keeping a hand on my dagger, I could see Makoto was on edge, too. With each passing second, I got more and more anxious.

Suddenly, a yellow light surrounded me and Makoto. Once it faded, I noticed the sky was a blood red with portals moving overhead. "There it is." I looked over to see Naofumi and Raphtalia. "The wave of catastrophe."

Looking around, I noticed the four of us were standing on a cliffside. Feeling something tap my arm, I looked over to see Makoto pointing below us. Looking to what she was pointing at, I saw Motoyasu, Ren, Itsuki, and their parties, rushing towards the wave. "Look over there!" Raphtalia pointed to a nearby village. "The village of Lute!"

"Was everyone evacuated?"

Suddenly, a flare was shot. "Guess not." I told Naofumi.

"Think it's enough to let the knights know where they are?" Naofumi asked.

"I dunno." I told him, pulling my daggers from their sheathes. I held one backwards and the other forward. "But I'll follow your lead. We can help Lute, or we can team up with the three merry idiots and their parties. It's your call."

There was a second of silence before Naofumi turned to us. "We're going. To Lute village!"

"Right!" Naofumi and Raphtalia ran ahead.

Following them, we ran all the way to the village, taking out a few creatures along the way. As we arrived, most of the buildings were on fire with villagers screaming and running. "Mercury."

"Yeah?"

"Go-" a loud crash, followed by screams, cut Naofumi off.

Looking to the source, I saw a building on fire had collapsed, trapping people inside. Glancing back to Naofumi, I pointed to the other villagers. "Go help the others! We got this."

"Alright!" Naofumi and Raphtalia rushed off as me and Makoto ran to help the trapped villagers in the house.

As we reached the door, more flaming boards fell in, blocking our way inside. "Damnit!" hearing the cries for help, I sheathed my daggers and ran over to the boards. "Keep 'em off me, okay?!" I told Makoto. Kneeling down, I rubbed my hands together as I prepared myself to lift the boards.

Grabbing the boards, I felt the heat burn my hands as I began to lift. Little by little, I managed to raise them. Hearing the sound of metal clang behind me, I glanced back to see Makoto block a skeleton's sword before slashing through it, turning it to a pile of bones.

Hearing more screams and coughs come from inside, I turned my attention back to lifting the boards.

Grunting as I struggled to raise them, I finally managed to get one of my shoulders under it to help support the weight. Gathering my strength, I pushed them off of me as I ducked inside.

I could feel the smoke immediately fill my lungs with each breath I took. Coughing, I began to slowly make my way through the thick cloud of smoke. "Help!" a girl called out before coughing. "Please!"

"Where..." I coughed. "Where are you?!"

"We're in the..." a boy's voice replied. I could tell he was struggling to speak. "In the... In..." his voice trailed off.

"Up..." the girl coughed. "Upstairs..."

"Hey!" I called out. No response. "Hey!" I coughed again.

Moving through the house, found tbe stairs and began to climb them, only for the wood to suddenly give out under me, trapping my right foot in two pieces of broken wood. "Come...on!" twisting my foot, I yanked it free before continuing to head up the stairs.

Placing a hand on the wall, I began moving down the hall, searching each room before moving on.

Coming across the final room, I saw two bodies lying on the ground, motionless. Scanning the room, I saw a window. Walking over, I tried to open it but it was jammed. Out of options, I pulled my fist back and punched the glass, hearing it crack. Pulling my fist back again, I punched right through the glass, feeling the shards cut my arm as I pulled back.

Pushing the remaining shards out of the window with my hands. "Mako-" I coughed. "Makoto!"

Seeing her rush over beneath the window, she looked up at me. "I got two-" I coughed again. "I got two kids in here. I'm gonna lower 'em down to you!"

Moving away from the window, I picked up one of the kids and headed back, lowering them as far as possible and making sure Makoto was ready to catch them before letting go.

Heading back in, I picked up the second kid and did the same. Makoto caught them and laid them down before looking up to me.

Lifting a foot to climb out the window, the floor beneath me suddenly caved, causing me to grip onto the windowsill to keep from falling into the inferno below. "Shit!"

Pulling myself up, I managed to pull myself out the window, falling to the ground below. Hitting my back on the ground, I felt all air escape my lungs. Makoto rushed over, her hair pure white.

Coughing, I turned over, my eyes, throat and lungs burning from the smoke. Makoto placed her hand on my back as I coughed. "I think... I think I'm okay..." I told her as I moved onto my knees, taking in a huge breath of fresh air.

Looking over to the two kids, a woman and a man rushed over to check on them. After looking them over, they picked one up each and ran off. "Guess they're okay..." I sighed a breath of relief but immediately coughed. Catching my breath, Makoto helped me to my feet. She stared at me with worry.

"I can fight, don't worry." I told her. She stared at me a bit longer before nodding her head. "Just watch my back, okay?" she nodded again.

Pulling out my daggers, me and Makoto joined the fight. Taking down skeletons and zombies with ease, I saw Naofumi running with a torch in his hand.

Turning back, I managed to duck under a sword just in time. "Fire dagger!" a flame coated my legendary weapon. Thrusting the blade into a zombie, I ripped it free before moving onto the next.

Seeing another zombie swing its blade at me, I ducked under it and went to strike, only for a sword to slice right through its neck. Glancing back, Makoto stood with a smile. "Did you..." I glanced at the dead zombie before looking back to Makoto. "Did you just swing over me?"

She nodded her head.

"So, what? You just-" I was cut off as Makoto thrusted her sword passed me. Glancing back, I saw a zombie pierced on the end of her blade. Looking to Makoto, she gestured to her sword. "Right."

Turning my attention back to the fight, I continued helping the villagers when I could as I killed the creatures. And, before long, the sky finally began to clear up.

Watching as the sky returned to its original blue, I let out a sigh. "Finally."

"Sir hero!"

"Huh?" I glanced back to see a man and woman, each holding a child. "Uhm...yes?"

"We..." the woman's eyes began to tear up. "We wanted to thank you for saving our children!"

I realized these were the parents of the kids I got out of that burning house. "Of course. I had to do something."

The woman smiled as tears flowed down her cheeks. "Thank you!"

Smiling, I turned around and began to walk off.

Suddenly, I felt a tug on my sleeve. Looking back, I saw Makoto staring at something. Following her gaze, I saw the other villagers praising Naofumi for his help. Smiling, I crossed my arms. "Good job, man." looking to Makoto, I tapped her arm. "Lets get going. We should get some sleep and begin training for the next wave."

Makoto pouted at me in reply, putting both of her hands on her hips. "Don't give me that." I told her. "We need to get as strong as possible for each wave."

She rolled her eyes before beginning to follow me.

End of chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 8

Inside the castle

In victory of defeating the wave of catastrophe, the king threw a party. There was food, drinks, too many people, and... "Hey, Merc." I glanced back to see Motoyasu approaching me.

"Only my friends get to call me that, Motoyasu." I kept my back to him.

"Are we not friends?" he asked.

"No, we're not."

Feeling my sleeve get tugged, I looked back to see Makoto holding a plate full of food. "Go find somewhere to sit, 'kay?"

She nodded and turned around.

Looking back to Motoyasu, I saw he was moving towards my party member. Stepping in front of him, he stopped. "I didn't realize you had such a cutie with you, Merc."

"You don't get to call me that." I growled. "And stay away from Makoto. She wants nothing-"

"Makoto, huh?" he tried to move passed me. "Cute name for a cute girl."

Grabbing his shoulder, I pulled him back in front of me. "Don't touch sir Motoyasu!" Myne schreeched.

Ignoring her, I glared at this so called 'hero'. "Find something to quench that thirst, Motoyasu. Before I do something I might regret." I turned around and walked off towards the table Makoto was sitting at.

Sitting down across from her, I let out a sigh. "Why did you insist on coming here, Makoto?" I asked. "I don't know any of these people and I don't want to know them."

Makoto slid a piece of paper over to me. Picking it up, I read it. "Seriously? For the food?" I put the paper down only to see a fork in my face with some meat on the end of it. "Makoto, I don't-" she put the fork in my mouth while I was talking.

The meat was...indescribable. It was delicious.

Chewing slowly to savor it, I swallowed. "Alright. I stand corrected."

Makoto replied by smiling before sliding a plate over to me. Picking up the fork, I stabbed a piece of meat and raised it to my lips. "You listen up!" I looked over to see Motoyasu standing in front of Naofumi.

"What the hell is that guy's problem?" I dropped the fork, stood up and walked over.

"You can't be saying it's okay to enslave others!" Motoyasu said.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Naofumi asked. "Slavery's legal in this crazy place. And she's been a great help to me."

"But we're heroes in this world. We shouldn't behave that way here and you know it." Motoyasu told him.

"You have a right to your opinion. And I disagree." Naofumi replied.

"Let's do this." Motoyasu raised his spear. "If I win, you're gonna set Raphtalia free."

"Alright. What's the plan if I win this fight?"

"That won't happen. But if it does, things'll stay the same." Motoyasu told Naofumi.

"Don't be such an idiot." Naofumi walked off.

"Master Naofumi."

"He actually has a slave in his party?" I heard Itsuki say.

"Man, how much lower is this guy gonna go?" Ren asked.

Clenching my fists, I fought the urge to yell in frustration. _"You fuckers forced him to do this! He had nothing and you pricks keep trying to take away what little he has. Bunch of assholes!"_

Shaking my head, I began following Naofumi.

Following him down the stairs, I saw a guard block his path. "It has been brought to my attention that you, a hero, have been using a demihuman as your slave to fight for you." the king said, approaching the railing above us. "You violated our customs and that is reprehensible." the king said. "I order you: accept the challenge!"

"Hey, they don't need to fight! I'm with master Naofumi of my own free will and-" a guard covered her mouth as he pulled her away.

"You leave her alone!"

I put my hands on my daggers in case a fight broke out. "Ah, you poor creature. You've been placed under a curse that forces you to defend him, have you not? Don't worry. Once master Motoyasu wins, you shall be released from that curse."

"Are you fucking serious?!" I growled.

"Stop it! Don't hurt her!" Naofumi shouted.

"Draw swords!"

Each guard around us drew their weapons and pointed them at us. "Heed my order, or I shall take her from you by force!"

"There is no way that you're getting out of this, you coward." Motoyasu said.

"You're a scumbag!" Naofumi shouted back. "I will win. And Raphtalia will be returned to me!"

Hearing a chuckle, I looked to the source to see Myne. "And how exactly will you win without her, shield hero?" everyone around us began to chuckle.

"You know what? She makes a good point." I said. "Let me fight on behalf of Naofumi! Or is Motoyasu too much of a pussy to fight someone that can use more than defense?"

"Naofumi was the one that was challenged." the king said. "So he will be the one to fight."

"How is that fair?!" I shouted. "All of you know he can only use defense! Why doesn't Motoyasu grow a pair, and accept my damn offer?!" I paused. "Or is he truly too scared to fight me? Knowing, the only way he stands a chance against anyone, is to challenge those who can't fight back." I glared up at him.

He grit his teeth. "My fight is with Naofumi."

"Why? Because you know I'm ri-"

I felt Naofumi place his hand on my shoulder. "Let's get this over with, Motoyasu. Me and you, one on one, right?" he asked.

"That's right."

Minutes later

Sitting in the coliseum, I waited for the duel to begin. I could feel the blood burning in my veins from my anger. Me and the other heroes stood in the stands, but Myne was in the arena, standing on the sidelines. "The duel between the sheild hero and the spear hero will now begin. This duel will end only when one of the combatants is pinned or admits defeat." the announcer said. "This duel will take place in the presence of king Melromarc and the pope, and it is thus legitimate and official." Naofumi and Motoyasu met in the middle of the arena. "Ready? Begin!"

Motoyasu rushed forward with 3 attacks, each one being blocked by Naofumi. I could see they were talking, but I was too far to hear what they were saying.

Naofumi pushed Motoyasu back only for him to rush forward with a flurry of attacks. Naofumi managed to block a few, but he got hit by most of them. "C'mon, man! Whoop his ass!"

Naofumi grit his teeth and rushed forward. Motoyasu tried to attack, but Naofumi dodged and threw a punch directly into his gut. As Motoyasu moved back, I saw one of those balloon monsters biting into his side.

"Ha! Good thinkin', man!"

Moving his cloak, Naofumi had 3 more biting him. Naofumi threw one at him but Motoyasu sliced right through it. Motoyasu tried to attack again as Naofumi's shield changed to a two headed dog. The dogs bit into Motoyasu as he jumped back.

He followed his attack up by launching a green shield into Motoyasu's stomach. He then threw 4 balloons at him just as he encased Motoyasu in a metal ball wrapped with chains.

"Hell yeah, man!" I pumped my fist as I cheered my best friend on.

Once the metal ball vanished, Motoyasu was on his knees. Approaching him, Naofumi was about to attack with a balloon in each of his hands.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind knocked Naofumi down. Looking over, I saw Myne with her arm extended, a grin on her face. I felt my anger rise as Motoyasu got to his feet and began attacking Naofumi.

His weapon glowed blue as he struck Naofumi one last time.

Seeing the duel was over, I rushed onto the arena to check on him. As I got to him, Naofumi pushed himself to his feet. "You didn't win."

"Huh?" Motoyasu turned around.

"What happened to this being a one on one duel?" Naofumi asked. "It's obvious you didn't win."

"What?"

"He's right." I told him. "That bitch over there used wind to knock him down."

"Everyone who was watching could see it!" Naofumi said. "You all saw Myne use her magic, didn't you? I know you saw it! She used her magic to help him win!"

"I shall listen to no more arguments about this battle." the king said. "Brave spear hero, you have won the duel!"

"I knew you would win." Myne rushed over to Motoyasu.

Naofumi turned away, his teeth gritted. "Lying fuckers!" I clenched my teeth. Hearing footsteps, I saw Myne was whispering to Naofumi.

She began laughing after a bit. "Get the hell away from him, you cheating bitch!" I moved between her and Naofumi.

"Your fighting was brilliant, master Motoyasu." the king said.

"Sir."

"Now I know why my daughter Malty chooses to believe so much in you." the king said, placing his hand on Motoyasu's shoulder.

"You see, papa?" Myne said.

Me and Naofumi both turned around after hearing that. "I gotta say, it was a total shock to learn that Myne was the king's daughter."

"I am. But I fight to contribute to the world's peace."

_"This bitch. This goddamn bitch set Naofumi up from the beginning! That bullshit about him forcing himself on her. And this piece of shit king. Saying whatever he wanted to please her. All so she could get close to this spear-wielding asshole!" _I said to myself. _"It makes me sick! Putting my best friend, no, my brother through all this bullshit!" _I clenched my fists as my anger spiked to a whole new level. _"He doesn't deserve this! He never did anything to them! Why?"_

Seeing Naofumi fall to his knees, I could feel my fingernails begin to break through my skin because of how hard I was clenching my skin. I felt blood trickle down my fingers.

Feeling a pair of hands grab my right hand, I looked over to see Makoto with her hands wrapped around mine. She stared up at me before slowly pulling me away and towards the exit. "What're you doing?"

She replied by gesturing for me to follow her.

Keeping quiet, I followed her out of the arena. She led me to the entrance of the castle before finally stopping. "Makoto, what are you-" she grabbed my hand and held it up to show the cuts on my hand from my nails. She reached back and pulled out a bandage roll, wrapping it around my hand. Once she was done, I closed and opened my hand a few times. "Thanks." I turned to head back to Naofumi, but Makoto grabbed my arm. "Makoto, I need-"

She grabbed my face and made me look her in the eye. Her hair was white and she looked worried. Extremely worried.

"Makoto, I'm fine." I told her. "You shouldn't-"

She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the castle. "Makoto?" she took me to the Inn we stayed at and took me to our room. She pointed at the bed. Sitting down, Makoto sat next to me.

Grabbing my head, she pulled me onto her lap, stroking my hair. And, just like before, everything seemed to fade away. All of my worries, anger, everything, just gone in the blink of an eye.

And before I knew it, I was dreaming.

End of chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 9

Inside the throne room, the five of us heroes stood in front of the king as he gave us our rewards. Keeping my arms crossed, I was tapping my foot constantly, still feeling extremely angry from yesterday.

"As a reward for his efforts during the wave, and for fulfilling my request, master Motoyasu will receive 4,000 silvers." the king said. "And young masters Itsuki, Ren and Mercury will receive 3,800 silvers. Finally, I've set aside 500 silvers for the shield hero. However, since he's been off set by the cost of setting his slave free from her curse, he will not receive any funds at this time."

I opened my mouth to say something. "Wait a second, that's not gonna fly." I was taken back when those words came from the right of me. Looking over, I saw it was Itsuki who had spoken up. "You were the one interfering with his duel. Dispelling that slave crest, or whatever you call it, and now you refuse to pay him what he deserves? That isn't exactly fair play."

"Yeah, that's right." Ren agreed. "If you'd followed the rules, Naofumi clearly would've won the duel."

"What? Are you crazy? I didn't lose!" Motoyasu replied.

"I'm afraid your both mistaken, sir Itsuki, sir Ren." Myne said. The sound of her voice alone made my blood boil now. "It was supposed to be a one on one duel. And the shield hero was the one with monsters hidden inside his cape. That is the real reason why father didn't declare him the winner."

I, again, opened my mouth to reply, only for Itsuki to beat me to it. "Even so, you cheated by firing a magic spell at him."

"Besides, when the wave hit, it was Naofumi and Mercury who defended that village, not the knights." Ren added. "So, if you ask me, it would be the right thing to fairly compensate him."

"Fine. I shall afford him the minimum agreed amount, but there will be nothing else." the king said. Naofumi was handed his bag of coins. "Well, you have it, so be gone already!"

Naofumi took a step forward, only for Raphtalia to stop him. "Master Naofumi, isn't it great? There's no reason for us to waste any more of our precious time here."

Naofumi was taken back a bit before he smiled and turned around, heading for the exit. "C'mon, Raphtalia, let's go." I quickly followed.

Once outside, I split my silver with Naofumi. "Here." I handed over half of my coin.

"Thanks." he took the coin and attached the bag on his hip.

"So, where you guys going?" I asked.

"To the slave trade." Raphtalia replied.

"Slave trade?" I repeated.

"Yeah." Naofumi rubbed the back of his head. "Raphtalia insists on replacing her slave crest."

"Right... because that's... something that... why exactly?" I asked.

Raphtalia's face turned a bright red as she pressed the tips of her index fingers together. "Anyways." Naofumi turned to me. "I'll take you to the place, in case you ever need something from there."

"Um... Sure... Why not?" I shrugged.

Minutes later

Inside the slave trade tent, Raphtalia had her crest replaced as I stared at all of the creatures and demihumans inside the cages. "Not a whole lot of, uhm, occupants inside the cells, huh?" I asked. Glancing around, I noticed a box of eggs with the slave crest. "What's this for?"

"This is a monster egg lottery. For 100 silvers, I guarantee at least a Filolial." the slaver replied.

"A Filolial?" Naofumi asked.

"You surely must've seen them around." Raphtalia said. "They're those gigantic birds that pull people's carriages around town."

"Those?" I asked, knowing what she was talking about.

"What's more? If you hit the jackpot, you'll win a dragon!" the slaver added. "And may I remind you, that beast is worth 20 gold pieces!"

"A dragon?" I rubbed my chin.

"Would you like to give it a shot?"

"Whatchya think, Naofumi?" I turned to him.

"Sure, why not?" he shrugged as he handed over 100 silvers.

"I'll take one, too." I said as I handed over 100 silvers as well.

"Great!"

Minutes later

Walking through the streets with my egg, I could feel Makoto staring at me. "What's wrong?" I asked. "You've been staring at me since the slave trade." I glanced at her to see her quickly look away.

"Come on. Let's head back to the Inn and talk, 'kay?"

Minutes later

Once back at our room in the Inn, I handed Makoto a piece of paper and something to write with. "What's on your mind?"

She began writing as I placed the egg on the desk between the beds. Heading back to the table, Makoto slid the paper over to me. "Oh, you're curious about what it could be?" I shrugged. "Dunno. But I'm obviously hoping for a dragon or something close to it."

Makoto just shrugged before yawning.

Heading over to the bed, she kicked off her boots and took off her cloak and armor before sliding under the covers. Yawning myself, I went over to my bed and took off my cloak and boots as well. Undoing my armor and puting it on the desk, I glanced at the egg.

After staring at it for a few seconds, I rolled over and closed my eyes.

The following morning

Feeling something poke my cheek, I brushed it away only for the poking to continue. Brushing it away again, I felt something sharp cut my cheek ever so slightly. Sitting up, I tapped the small cut and looked at my fingers, seeing some blood covering the tips of my fingers. "Jeez, Makoto." I said as I wiped my cheek. "Did you have to-" I looked over to see her still asleep in her bed. Glancing down beside me, I saw a tiny dragon staring up at me. Its wings were tucked back and its tail swayed. Looking to the egg, I saw it was broken apart. "So, it was a dragon." I said softly. Looking back to the dragon, I cupped my hands and the little guy immediately jumped into them. It was big enough to cover both of my hands, and I could feel its talons jabbing my skin, but I didn't really care, too interested in this creature to mind.

Its scales were a dark blue and its eyes were a blood red. "You're quite the cute little guy, huh?" as I said that, the dragon blew a small flame towards me. "Hey!" I glared at it as it glared back. "I was giving you a compliment."

The dragon kept staring at me. "What are you anyways?" I lifted its tail to try and see its gender, but it quickly tried to nip at my fingers. "Okay!" I pulled my hand away. "Jeez." I stared at it a while longer. "Are you a boy?" the dragon blew another flame towards me. "A girl, then?" once I said that, the small dragon brushed its head against my fingers. "Alright. Now, for your name..."

The dragon stared up at me, her head cocked slightly. "Hmm... How about... Draygone?" I shook my head at the name. "Nah, too obvious. Maybe... Justine? No. Not really a dragon-y type name." I put the dragon on the desk. "How about..." I closed my eyes in thought. After a few seconds, I got it. "Daenerys!" I snapped my fingers. I looked to the dragon to see her stretching her tiny wings. "How about it, huh?"

The dragon replied by flying up to my eye level. Watching the creature, she flew towards me and landed on my shoulder. "O...kay!"

A few days later

Battling creatures all week, I managed to level up quite a few more times. Taking Naofumi's advice, I began placing bits of the monsters we killed in the jewel on my dagger. I now had countless skills, countless abilities I could and couldn't use until I was a higher level.

And Daenerys, she grew pretty damn fast. She went from being the size of a football, to the size of a fully grown lion. It was scary how fast she grew.

All in the span of just a few days.

Now, we were taking a bit of a break, sitting in a small clearing, far from any villages. We huddled around the campfire as I checked out some more of my skills.

I could transform my dagger into all sorts of things. A sharp leaf, a spiked blade from some porkupine creature. I could shoot lightning from my blade as well as fire. But my favorite skill type? Stealth. I am able to turn invisible, and even attack up to 3 times without it wearing off. This is sure to come in handy.

Looking over to Makoto, I saw she was fast asleep in her sleeping bag. Closing out of my status menu, I felt a sudden hot breath graze my neck. Looking over to my dragon, I saw she was staring directly at me. "What?"

She blew another breath at me before laying down, placing her head in my lap. I stared down at her as I watched her eyes close.

Deciding it'd be best to get some rest, too, I let myself drift off.

The following day

Feeling something shake my shoulder, I opened my eyes to see Makoto. "Hey..." I said groggily. Rubbing my eyes, I noticed Daenerys was missing. Quickly getting to my feet, I looked around but she was nowhere to be seen. "Daenerys?" I called out. "Daenerys!"

"Quit shouting, will ya?" I turned around to see a woman, about as tall as me, standing near the trees. Her hair was dark blue and her eyes were blood red. She was also completely naked.

End of chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 10

Hours later, inside the weapon shop

"Hey, kid, haven't seen ya in a while." the shop keep said as I walked inside with Makoto and the woman. She actually turned out to be Daenerys in human form. However, she had a smaller pair of her dragon wings still out and she was also wearing my cloak to cover herself.

"Huh? Oh, right, yeah." I walked up to the counter. "I have a bit of a problem." I glanced back at Daenerys as she looked around the store.

"Women problems?" he asked. "You're not the only one."

"Yeah, yeah, that's great. Look, do you know about any clothing items that can survive a...transformation?" I asked.

"Transformation?" the shop keep asked. "Actually, I do a bit. The shield hero stopped in yesterday with a new party member. Turns out, she was a giant Filolial and ate my lunch. I told him those clothing items were special ordered though."

"Great!" I smiled. "Do you have any idea where Naofumi is now?"

"Nah. But I believe he is still somewhere here in Melromarc."

"Alright, thanks!" leaving the shop, Makoto and Daenerys followed me out.

Running around Melromarc, I kept and eye out for Naofumi. I knew there was a low chance of finding him, but I had a good feeling I'd spot him somewhere around here.

As we walked, I asked a few places if they've seen him, but with his reputation, I usually got a negative reply. I didn't really have time to argue since I wanted to hurry up and get Daenerys some clothes that she could transform with freely without having to worry about them tearing and falling off.

Walking around for what felt like forever, I suddenly heard a low growl come from behind me. Glancing back, I saw Daenerys with her teeth clenched as she glared at something through the crowd. "Daenerys?" She suddenly pushed her way through the crowd as if she was in a hurry.

Quickly following her, I pushed through the crowd and saw her standing in front of a short blonde girl wearing a dress. She had a blue ribbon on her chest and had a pair of angelic wings behind her. "Hey, what're you-"

I was shocked to see the small girl glare back, gritting her teeth as well. The two seemed like enemies. As if they've hated each other for years. Which I found strange since Daenerys was literally days old.

"Filo!" I saw a familiar face push his way through the crowd. He stepped between the girl and Daenerys. He didn't say anything to her, just stared.

Rushing over, I placed my hand on Daenerys' shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Naofumi looked from her to me. "She's a new member of your party?" he asked.

"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my head. "Long story, I'll tell you later, but I need some transformation proof clothing." I told him. "Know where I can get some?"

"Transformation clothing?" he repeated. "Wait, is this girl-"

"Yeah, yeah, she came out of my egg." I cut him off. "Now, where can I get some transformation clothing?"

"Tell her that she shouldn't be going around..." he glanced at Daenerys and saw she was still glaring at the blonde girl. "Doing that."

The two girls just glared at each other. "Anyways, the clothing?"

"Right. There's a magic shop that makes the special thread needed. Lucky for you, I already got the stone needed. Then, take her to the clothing store and ask the shop keep to make the clothing." he said before giving me directions.

"Thanks, man." I turned around to walk away, but noticed Daenerys was still glaring at Filo. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her away.

Heading for the magic shop Naofumi told me about, we went inside to see a little old lady behind the counter. "How may I help you today?" she asked.

"Yeah, how much would it be to get some magic thread needed for transformation clothing?" I asked.

"Transformation clothing?" she asked. "A young man like you came in yesterday looking for the same thing. Here, follow me." she lead us over to a thread spinner. "The thread needs to be made out of the users own mana." she told me.

"So, Daenerys just needs to spin her own thread while imbuing her mana into it?" I asked.

"Precisely."

"How much would it cost?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that." the lady replied.

"Really? Thanks."

Daenerys walked over and sat down at the spinning wheel.

Some time later

Once Daenerys spun as much thread as she wanted, we went over to the clothing store and walked inside, greeted by a blonde woman. "Welcome!" she said as she smiled. "How may I help you three today?"

"Yeah, could you make some transformation clothing?" I asked. "We already have the thread needed."

"Oh?" she said as she walked towards us. "And which one of you needs the clothing?"

"This one." I gestured to Daenerys.

"Hm." she took a step back. "Let's see. I can see her as the adventurer type. So, maybe...a longsleeve white shirt with red sleeves to go with her eyes. Dark blue pants to match her hair. And black boots."

"Boots?" I asked.

"Yep." she nodded. "It won't take me long to make." she turned to Daenerys. "Come with me so I can take your measurements."

Daenerys followed the shop owner behind a cutrain as me and Makoto waited. Crossing my arms, I leaned against the wall.

A few hours later

Hearing the curtain get pulled back, I pushed myself off the wall as Daenerys and the shop keep walked out. "What d'ya think?"

Daenerys stood in front of me, her wings stretching a bit as she looked at her arms. She looked down at herself and smoothed out her shirt. The red sleeves made her eyes pop a bit, and the white made it look really unique. Her pants and boots matched pretty well with her hair, too.

"Looks good." I said. "Real good."

"You think?" Daenerys asked. "I dunno." she gently tugged at the sleeves. "Feels kinda weird to be wearing so much cloth."

"It still looks great." I told her.

"I'll take your word for it." she replied. "Here." she handed me my cloak back.

"Thanks." I took it and put it back on.

"Alright!" the shop owner smiled. "Now, for the payment."

After paying for the clothes, me, Makoto and Daenerys left the store. As we walked, I noticed Daenerys kept tugging on her shirt and sleeves. "Hmm... I don't like these."

"You'll get used to it." I told her.

"Hmph!" she kept gently tugging. "I don't like it."

"You have to wear them."

She groaned. "Fine!"

I looked to the sky to see it getting dark. "We should probably head back to the inn for today." I said. "Then we can go hunting tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me." Daenerys replied.

I glanced to Makoto to see her nod in response.

"Alright then."

Heading to the inn, the 3 of us walked inside and to our room after I paid the innkeeper for the night. They only had 1 and 2 person rooms, so Makoto and Daenerys had to share. Taking off my cloak, armor and boots, I placed them next to the bed as I sat down. Makoto did the same and Daenerys just took off her boots, placing them next to mine.

Makoto slid into her bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Pulling the covers over me, I felt someone slide in next to me. Looking over, Daenerys had got into my bed. "Uh, shouldn't you-" Daenerys cut me off by wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close to her, finding my face buried in between her breasts.

"Goodnight." she said softly.

"Daenerys!" my voice was muffled. I tried pulling away but found her grip too strong to break. "Daenerys!"

After a few minutes of struggling, I just gave up. Letting out a sigh, I decided to just get some rest. "Goodnight, Daenerys."

End of chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 11

Out in the fields, we were hunting the same creatures we always have. Right now, we were attacking a small pack of wolves. I wanted a new challenge.

Readying myself, one of the wolves rushed towards me. As it pounced and bit down on my arm, I used its own momentum to flip it over me and onto its back. "Makoto!" I yelled. As I kept the wolf still, Makoto quickly rushed over and stabbed it in the chest.

Backing away from the dead wolf, I turned to the remaining 3. Raising my daggers, I twirled one in my hand, holding it in a reverse grip.

The last 3 wolves hunched down. One after another, they each lunged at us. However, before they could even get near, Daenerys, in her dragon form, pinned two, one under each of her front talons, before eating the third one.

As the last two wolves struggled under Daenerys' hold, me and Makoto stabbed them. Pulling my daggers free, I sheathed them as Makoto sheathed her sword. Now that all of the wolves were gone, Daenerys changed back into her human form. "That was too easy."

"Yeah."

"You're bleeding." Daenerys gestured to my arm.

"Huh?" I raised my arm. "Oh, this is nothing." I rolled up my sleeve and pulled out some bandages. Makoto suddenly walked over and grabbed my arm. "What're you...?" she pulled out a small circular container. Opening it, there was some kind of cream inside. Getting a little on her fingers, she spread the cream along the bite marks and the pain quickly subsided. "Thanks." I wrapped my arm in the bandages before rolling my sleeve back down.

"Don't you think we should take on something more challenging?" Daenerys asked.

"Yeah, I do." I looked back at the kingdom of Melromarc. "Maybe we should get a change of scenery as well."

"Oh? Where are we going?"

I paused for a second as I thought of a destination. "Hmm...Melromarc is basically the only location I know by name. And Lute village." I crossed my arms. "Makoto, any ideas?" I asked, turning to face her.

She just shrugged in reply.

"Why not just follow the road?" Daenerys suggested.

"Walking could take forever to reach...wherever the road leads." I told her. "It'd be best to have a carriage. Even then, it'd cost a bit more to buy a filolia-"

"No!" Daenerys growled. "I can pull the carriage. But we are _NOT _getting a filolial."

I found her sudden annoyance and sternness towards filolials a bit strange. "Alright..." I shrugged. "So all we need to do is buy a carriage, then."

"Why do we need a carriage anyway?" Daenerys asked. "I could just fly us wherever we need to go."

"I wouldn't want you to get exhausted." I told her. "Plus, I, uh, I don't like heights."

"Why not?! Flying is so much fun!" Daenerys replied.

"Flying, sure. It's the falling part that doesn't exactly intrigue me." I told her.

"Please, master?" Daenerys placed her hands together. "You'll be safe with me."

"I dunno..." Feeling a sudden tap on my arm, I looked to my side to see Makoto staring at me. "What?"

She moved her eyes from me to the direction of Daenerys while gesturing with her head. "Seriously? You think I should-"

"That's two against one!" Daenerys said, changing into her dragon form. "Hop on."

"I, uh, I don't-" I was suddenly pushed forward. Looking back at Makoto, I saw she was smiling.

"Come oooon!" Daenerys shifted her body back and forth, clearly getting impatient.

"Fine." I let out a defeated sigh.

Daenerys hunched down, allowing me to easily get on her back. Moving a bit so I could sit comfortably, I got a good grip. "Alright. I think I'm-" Daenerys suddenly bolted off the ground, flying straight towards the sky. Yelling in surprise, and a bit of fright, closed my eyes. My stomach felt like it was in my throat as we got higher and I could feel my heart pumping the blood through my veins.

It felt like forever before Daenerys finally straightened out. "See?" she asked. "Isn't it fun?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's a blast! Now would ya put me back on the ground?!"

"Your eyes aren't open, are they?" she asked.

"Nope!"

"Would you just look?"

Sighing, I slowly opened my eyes and was taken back by what I saw. We were completely surrounded by clouds. And as the wind blew through my hair, I felt like I was floating. "This...I don't know what to say."

Daenerys chuckled. "Told ya so."

Leaning over slightly, I looked to the ground below and saw just how high up we really were. Fighting the vertigo, I moved back to my previous position. "Okay, this is pretty cool." I admitted.

Flying through cloud after cloud, I couldn't help but reach out and touch one. My hand felt like it was brushing against the softest feathers.

Flying in silence, I found it rather peaceful up here. I felt the same as when Makoto would comfort me, as if all of my problems just faded away.

Laying back, I stared up as we flew, watching the clouds overhead pass by as we soared. "Alright." I sat up. "This was pretty amazing, but I think we should get back to Makoto."

Daenerys didn't reply as we began to descend. Reaching the ground, I slid off Daenerys' back as she changed into her human form. "I knew you'd like it." she told me.

"It _was_ pretty fun." I smiled.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned around to see Makoto with a smile on her face. "Hey, maybe next time Makoto can join us." Daenerys suggested.

Makoto's hair turned snow white as she waved her hands in front of her and shook her head, her eyes wide. "Why not?" I asked teasingly. "You made me do it."

She just shook her head faster.

"I think it's only fair." I told her. "After all, you did kind of force me to."

Makoto took a step back, still shaking her head. "Eh, I guarantee you'll fly with Daenerys sooner or later." I added.

Makoto stopped shaking her head as Daenerys approached. "So, what now?"

"We get a carriage and hit the road." I replied. "Maybe help a few villages along the way."

"I'd like that. Leaving this place would be great!"

"Then it's settled." I began walking back towards Melromarc. "Let's get a carriage."

Once back in Melromarc, I began looking around for a carriage and came across a place that sold a few. Approaching the shopkeeper, I gestured back to one of the carriages. "How much are those?" I asked.

"150 silvers." the shopkeeper replied.

"Alright." pulling out my bag of coins, I handed over 150 silvers. As I placed the coins in his hand, I noticed he was staring at something on my hip.

"You wouldn't happen to be the dagger hero, would ya?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"It true that you're buddy-buddy with the shield hero?" he asked.

"...yes."

His face turned to one of disgust. "I forgot, the price for a carriage is 300 silvers."

"You just doubled the price!" Daenerys growled.

Glaring at him, I reached for another 150 silvers. "Why the sudden price change?"

"None of your business!" the shopkeep growled. "Now, you want the carriage or what?"

"Here." I handed the coin over.

"By the way, the filolial costs 100 more silvers." he added.

"I don't need one."

He glared at me in reply. "Then get out of my shop!" he growled.

"Gladly." I turned around and walked over to one of the carriages. Daenerys changed into her dragon form so I could hook her up. Once she was, Makoto climbed in back as I took the reins.

"Alright." I said softly. "Let's get goin'."

Hours later

Following the road for what felt like forever, we finally came across a village just as the sun began to set. Glancing back in the carriage, I saw Makoto was asleep. Looking back to the road, we went into the village and parked our carriage next to the others. Hopping off the carriage, I unhooked Daenerys and she changed back into her human form.

Heading to the back, I climbed in and gently shook Makoto's shoulder. Opening her eyes a bit, she sat up and yawned. "We're...in a village." I told her. "C'mon, lets find a decent place to sleep and see if we can't find some work in the morning."

She nodded as she got to her feet. Seeing her wobble on her feet, I grabbed her shoulders to help her keep her balance. "Guess you're still pretty tired."

Helping her out of the back of the carriage, we walked the streets until I found the inn. Heading through the doors, I approached front desk. "Room for 3?" I asked the lady behind the counter.

"Sorry, we only have rooms for 2 available." she replied. "2 silvers for one night."

"Right." handing over the coin, she pointed me to the room. Walking in, I helped Makoto take off her boots, armor, and cloak since she seemed too tired to do so herself. She laid down in the bed as I placed her armor, cloak and boots next to the bed. Daenerys took the other bed while I took off my armor, boots and cloak as well, placing them by the bed. As I turned around, I felt a hand grab my wrist.

Turning around, I saw Makoto was looking up at me with half open eyes. "What?" I asked softly.

She replied by gently patting the spot next to her. Realizing what she meant, I didn't argue as I slid in bed next to her. I was a bit embarrassed and nervous, though. Makoto turned over onto her side. Wrapping one arm around her, I felt her hand grab my hand, squeezing gently.

Closing my eyes, I drifted off.

The next day, me, Daenerys and Makoto went around looking for work. As we went from place to place, I heard about a creature that had been terrorizing the village.

"So, are we going to-?"

"You're one of the heroes, yes?" I turned around to see a short elderly man.

"The dagger hero, yeah." I told him. "And you are?"

"Are you here to take out the Nue?"

"Nue?" I repeated. "I-I guess?" I shrugged.

"Please, the beast has been terrorizing our village for weeks." the man said. "Killing our cattle, and-"

"I understand." I said. "Do you know where it's at?"

"Inside a cave, at the base of the mountain." he told me, pointing to the mountain.

"Okay, we'll head there now." I said.

An hour later

Reaching the base of the mountain took some time, as well as finding the cave entrance. Parking the carriage, I hopped down and unhooked Daenerys before heading inside.

"It's kinda dark." my voice echoed a bit as we walked further into the cave. Daenerys was still in her dragon form as we went deeper into the cave. "Does anyone have a light?"

"Shouldn't you have a spell for something like that?" Daenerys asked.

"Actually..." I raised my dagger. "Fire dagger!" the blade was immediately engulfed in flames, lighting the area. "There we go."

Walking further into the cave, I could hear what sounded like growling echo through the cave. "Keep your guard up." I told the others.

Walking for a few more minutes, we reached the end of the cave. And there, at the far end was the creature we came to kill. It was just moving around the area. I noticed the thing had a monkey's head, raccoon body, tiger limbs and snake tail.

Taking a step towards it, it suddenly turned to face us, growling. Readying my blades, Makoto stood next to me as Daenerys hunched down.

"Let's finish this quick."

End of chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 12

Daenerys was the first to pounce, only to be knocked away as the creature dodged her, kicking with its back legs. Makoto rushed in next, slashing with her sword as I moved in to help.

As I went to attack, the Nue swiped its front claw at me. Ducking under the creature's paw, Makoto wasn't quick enough, she got hit and was knocked into the wall of the cave.

Standing back up, I stabbed the Nue in its chest. The creature roared as the snake tail bit down on my left shoulder. Gritting my teeth, I used my second dagger to stab the snake. Pulling away, I moved back as sparks began to circle the creature.

Jumping back, the area around the beast was struck with lightning. Taking the chance to catch my breath, Daenerys and Makoto rejoined me.

Once the lightning stopped, Makoto rushed in and slashed at its head while Daenerys took on the tail. With it distracted, I ran in and slid under it, stabbing it in the neck. Coming to a stop under it, I ripped my dagger through its flesh, causing blood to drench my face and chest. Pushing my dagger further down its body, it was suddenly pushed off as Daenerys slammed into its side with her talons. As it lay dead, I got the XP from it, jumping from level 44 to 46.

Getting to my feet, I wiped the blood off my weapons before sheathing them. Daenerys changed into her human form as I walked over to the creatures body. "What're you doing?"

"Getting a new addition to my arsenal." I replied. Pulling out my dagger, I cut off one of the creatures claws and the snake head. Feeding them to the jewel on my dagger, my skill menu opened up showing more skills. "Tiger claw dagger... And Venom blade..." I read the skills. "Interesting." raising my blade, I thought of the tiger claw and watched as the blade of my dagger changed. The blade grew a few inches and turned into an almost exact image of the claw. "Hm." I got a few stat upgrades with this blade as well. Two percent speed when using it as well as a bit more resistance to cold. As for the venom blade, there weren't any stat upgrades except for resilience to venom as well as adding venom to the blade itself.

"Can we go now?" Daenerys asked.

Standing back up, I turned to the way we came. "Yeah." looking down at my blood soaked clothes, I grimaced. "Ugh."

Once we left the cave, we got back on the carriage and began heading to the village. Taking a little less time to get back, since I memorized the way, we parked and hopped out.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, the same elderly man approached us. "Is the beast dead?" he asked.

"Yeah." I gestured to my clothes. "Here's your proof." I placed my hand over my eyes. "I'm gonna smell like crap for the next week."

"Excellent!" the elderly man smiled. "About the killed beast. Of course, here is your payment." he handed out a bag of coin.

Taking it, I glanced inside to see it filled with silver. "Thanks." I attached the bag to my hip. "Now, where can I was my clothes?"

Minutes later

Down by the river, I was washing my cloak and shirt since they were the ones drenched in blood. My pants were quite dirty so I was washing them, too.

That elderly man also gave me a shirt and a pair of shorts to wear while my clothes dried. He even gave Makoto some clothes for when she needed to wash her outfit as well. Daenerys didn't need any, though. Guess one of the perks of having transformation clothing is that they never get dirty.

Once I was done washing my clothes, I hung them up on a low hanging tree branch while I got the blood off my face and out of my hair. I shook my head to get most of the water out before putting on the shirt the elderly man gave me. Once I did, I felt a sharp stinging sensation in my shoulder.

Standing up from my kneeling position, I ignored it as I grabbed my clothes and headed back to the village. Makoto and Daenerys were waiting for me by the main gate. Walking passed them, they followed. "Now that we got that out of the way, let's start heading to another village. See if we can't find more work."

The two agreed and we got back in the carriage. Hanging my wet clothes from the roof of the carriage, I stepped into the 'driver' seat and took the reins. Makoto hooked Daenerys up before climbing in back.

Following the road, I let myself get lost in thought to pass the time.

A few hours later

"Master!" Daenerys shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh, what's wrong?" I noticed the carriage wasn't moving. "Why're we stopped?"

"There's a group of people up ahead." she replied.

Looking ahead, I counted a little less than a dozen people. Each one of them looked shady. "Bandits."

"Bandits?" Daenerys repeated.

"Approach slowly." I told her. "There's probably more near."

Reaching the group, they all pulled out their weapons. Coming to a stop, I leaned forward. "How can I help you?"

"Give us your coin!" one of the bandits ordered.

"I don't think I will." I said as I hopped down from the carriage.

"It's either your coin or your life!" another bandit growled.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I glanced back to see half a dozen more bandits blocking the way we came. "You're forgetting the third option." I said.

"And what's that?"

Pulling out my weapons, Makoto joined my side, her sword at the ready. Moving over to Daenerys, I quickly unhooked her from the carriage. Turning back to the bandits, I smirked.

Placing a hand on Daenerys, she looked to me. "Handle the ones behind us." I told her. "Me and Makoto can take them."

Daenerys nodded before turning her attention to the bandits behind us. "Last chance to just hand over your coin and walk away." the bandits told us.

Throwing my second dagger at one of them in reply, it sunk into his thigh, causing him to fall to the ground. Rushing forward, Makoto kept some of them busy while I engaged the rest.

Making sure not to fatally injure any, I sliced their legs to incapacitate them while dodging their attacks as best I could. Once the last one fell, Daenerys, Makoto and I rounded them up. "Alright," I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. Ignoring it, I wiped off my daggers and put them away. "Now, I want-"

"You're the dagger hero, right?" one of the bandits asked.

Turning to face them, I placed a hand on my hip. "Yeah, he is!" another spoke. "The shield hero's buddy!"

I crossed my arms. "It's our lucky day, fellas!" the first bandit said. I turned to the bandit and saw a smirk cross his lips. "We'll go to the king with this." he continued. "Tell him that you attacked us for not worshipping that piece of shit shield hero. I mean, why not sweeten the pot while we're at it? Say we caught him forcing himself on a woman and when he saw us, he attacked. Or maybe, forcing himself on a girl. Or even-"

Feeling anger rising, I pulled out one of my daggers. The bandits fell silent as I approached the one who was just talking. In one swift motion, I slashed my blade through his throat.

Hearing a gasp come from behind me, I looked back to see Makoto and Daenerys, in her human form, watching. Daenerys looked shocked but Makoto just stood there, staring. "Why did you-?"

"He deserved it." I cut Daenerys off, turning back to the other bandits. "They all do. I mean, how many people have they stolen from? Killed? How many women have they forced themselves on? I'm just making sure they can't do that again. Now, you can either help, leave, or wait for me to finish."

Approaching another bandit, Makoto walked up next to me. Glancing at her, I saw she was just as furious as I was. Drawing her sword, she shoved it through one of their chests.

One by one, we went through and killed each bandit. When the last one was killed, I began loading them into the back of the carriage. After that was done, I hooked Daenerys up and had her take us somewhere in the forest. There, we dumped the bodies.

Feeling that same pain in my shoulder, I gently rubbed it to try and ease it a bit. "Listen to me, the both of you." I said, getting Daenerys and Makoto's attention. "This never happened. They've probably stolen from and killed more people than I can count. Don't feel bad for them. They had this coming."

Daenerys and Makoto both nodded. "Good." I walked passed them and towards the carriage. "Now, let's get going."

End of chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 13

Heading to the next village, I kept an eye out for more bandits. It had gotten dark, and I could see Makoto and Daenerys were getting tired. I was getting a bit exhausted, too and I felt kind of hot as well. "Master, did you have to kill those people back there?" Daenerys asked.

"Yes, now stop asking!" I growled.

Reaching the next village after a few more hours, we went through the gate and parked the carriage. Climbing down, another sharp pain rushed through my shoulder. Ignoring it, I started searching for the local inn.

"Uh, Makoto?" Daenerys spoke. "Since when have you had...fox ears? And a, a tail?"

Glancing back, I saw Makoto had her ears and tail out for all to see. She was also glaring at Daenerys. Seeing the look on Makoto's face, Daenerys backed away. "She hides them." I told Daenerys. "Now," I turned back and continued searching for the inn. "Will you be quiet and help me look for...for..." I trailed off as my whole body suddenly felt very heavy as a wave of dizziness washed over me. Placing a hand on the side of my head, it felt like it was on fire as I tried to take a step but fell. Feeling someone push me onto my back, I tried to sit up but couldn't.

"...ster?" a voice echoed. "...aster?!" it slowly became clearer. "Master!" blinking, Daenerys was suddenly kneeling over me.

Feeling the dizziness fade, I sat up. "What..?" I rubbed the side of my head.

"You just fell suddenly." Daenerys explained. "Are, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you s-"

"I said: I'm fine!" I repeated, getting to my feet. Glancing around, I noticed some of the townsfolk were staring. "Let's just find the inn."

Walking around for what felt like forever, we finally came across the inn. Heading inside, I approached the counter. "Room for 3?" I asked the girl behind the counter.

"We only have rooms for 1 or 2." the girl replied.

"Of course you do." I sighed. "How much?"

"2 silvers."

Handing the coins over, she pointed us to our room. Heading inside, I took off my boots, armor and cloak. Placing them next to one of the beds, I sat down.

I still felt extremely hot from earlier, and I was trying my best to brush it off. Pulling at the collar of my shirt, I noticed Daenerys was staring at me. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just, you look tired." she said.

Rolling my eyes, I laid down on my side. Hearing a few footsteps, I felt someone lay down next to me. Too tired to say anything, I closed my eyes as Makoto blew out the lantern on the desk.

Hours later

Jolting up from a sudden sharp pain in my left arm, I grit my teeth. I must've woken Makoto up, because she was sitting up as well, staring at me, her hair white. "I'm fine, Makoto." I told her as I rubbed my left shoulder.

She narrowed her eyes before reaching out her hand. Looking from her to her hand, I sighed as I lifted my left arm. "It's nothing, really."

Makoto kept staring at my arm as she slowly rolled up my sleeve. Wincing as she did so, Makoto slowed down a bit. To get a better look, she grabbed the lamp and lit it, hovering it beside my arm. Her eyes widened as my arm was lit up.

Pulling my arm away to get a look myself, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The veins in my arm were bulging and purple. A bright purple.

"That-" I coughed. Placing a hand over my mouth, I pulled it away to see blood coating my palm. Looking up to Makoto, I saw the panicked look in her eyes. And it was the last thing I remembered as I passed out.

End of chapter 13

(AN: to answer everyone, yes, I have been working to lengthen my chapters. But I can't exactly do that when one of you is asking for me to lengthen them, and another is asking when the next chapter'll be released. No, I'm not trying to be rude, just trying to state a point.

So, I have come to a conclusion. Do you either want A) longer chapters as well as longer upload times. Or B) I stay at the same pace I'm going now.

And yes, my storytelling isn't top notch, but I am trying to be as descriptive as possible.

As for Naofumi and Raphtalia, all of their arcs are just like in the anime, and, I'd like to point out, that Naofumi and Raphtalia fought a two headed black dog in the cave, not a cerberus.

I really am trying to create new arcs, but it's tough to come up with something interesting when I don't know all of the monsters by heart. I'd love to add in some that aren't in the anime, like a minotaur for example, but I dunno if you guys would love or hate the idea.

So, I have another question: should I add in mythological creatures, minotaurs, succubi, sirens, etc, or should I stick to what the show has?

As for my knowledge of The Rising of the Shield Hero, I only know what the anime has shown. Making it just a tad bit difficult.

Again, not trying to be rude, just clarifying and asking your guys' opinion.

I'd appreciate any and all feedback, positive or negative. Ciao!)


	14. Chapter 14

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 14

Slowly opening my eyes, I noticed I was still in the room I rented. Sitting up, I saw Makoto and Daenerys, their heads resting beside me on the bed, as they both slept.

Glancing down, I saw my shirt was off and my chest and left arm were wrapped in bandages. Lifting the covers, I moved my legs slightly, only for Makoto to suddenly spring up. Looking at me, a few seconds passed before she suddenly pounced, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Hey." I gently returned the embrace.

Pulling away, she wiped her eyes. "How long have I been out?"

"4 days." Daenerys said. I looked to her as she stood up and walked over to me. We shared a hug for a few seconds before she pulled away.

"What happened?"

"You had been injected with some sort of venom." she replied. "I found a doctor shortly after you passed out. He asked what did this to you, but I didn't know. He then asked for symptoms."

"What'd you tell him?" I asked while gesturing to my shirt, which laid on the dest. Makoto noticed and handed it over so I could put it on.

"I didn't know what to tell him, so he started asking different symptoms, feverish, pains, that sort of thing." she continued. "I told him that you were feverish and had felt some sort of pain in your shoulder, and that you were easily angry. After I told him that, he said he knew what kind of venom it was and rushed to his shop to prepare an antidote. He came back a few minutes later with a small cup, a bowl of water and some bandages."

I kept quiet.

"He got you to drink the antidote before dipping the bandages in the water and carefully wrapping them around your body." Daenerys continued. "After that, he just said we had to wait for you to wake up."

"What was-" I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked over to see Makoto holding a piece of paper. "It was a type of holy water." I read. "He dipped the bandages in holy water?"

Makoto nodded her head.

"Did he say if I was fit for travel or not?" I asked.

"He said you should rest for a few days." Daenerys replied. "Then he gave us directions to a village that had a...uh...hm..." she looked down in thought. "Hot...spring? I think that's what he said."

"There are hot springs here?" I looked over to Makoto and she nodded. "How far?"

"It's actually the next village over." Daenerys replied.

"Good." I got to my feet. Wincing, I held my side as it began to ache.

"Are you sure you're okay to go anywhere?"

"I'm just a bit sore. It's nothing." I replied. "C'mon."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah." I grabbed my boots and cloak, putting them on before heading for the door. "Besides, a hot spring sounds relaxing."

An hour later

Reaching the next village over, we parked the carriage before heading to the hot springs. Paying for a room, we each grabbed a towel. Me and Makoto also put our spare clothes out on the beds to change into for when we got back. Makoto and Daenerys stripped out of their clothes while my back was turned, wrapping their towels around themselves, before heading off ahead while I made sure to have extra bandages prepared for when I dried off.

Once I was done with that, I took the bandages off that were on me and found my veins had gone, mostly, back to normal. Stripping out of the rest of my clothes, I wrapped the towel around my waist and headed for the door.

Opening it, I almost bumped right into Makoto. "Oh, hey." She looked me up and down, her face turning a soft red, before motioning me to follow her. I noticed her body was already wet. "Makoto?"

She waved her hand before gesturing for me to follow her. "Okay..."

She led me to one of the hot springs. It had a statue in the center. It showed a man, with his fist in the air. A woman, caressing the man's chest. And some sort of boar at their feet.

"Makoto, I-" I trailed off as Makoto glanced back at me, her face an even darker red than before, as she removed her towel. I immediately looked away as I felt my face heat up. Hearing Makoto enter the hot spring, I did my best to keep myself from taking a peek.

Turning around to leave, I cleared my throat. "So, I guess I'll just lea-" I was cut off as I felt some hot water hit my back. "Hey!" I turned around to see Makoto gesturing for me to join her. She had one hand over her chest while beckoning me with the other. "Alright..."

Slowly reaching for my towel, I saw Makoto was still staring. Motioning with my index finger for her to turn around, she stiffened a bit, as if realizing she was staring, before turning her back to me. Taking off my towel, I slid into the spring.

"Alright." I kept a bit of distance from Makoto since this was the first time I was naked with a woman and I had no idea what to do. "So, uh...what now...?"

Makoto slowly moved over to me. Backing away a bit, I felt extremely nervous. Pressing my back against the edge of the spring, Makoto moved over to me and grabbed my hand. "What are you..?" she pressed a finger against my lips before pulling me over to the statue. Moving in front of it, Makoto pointed to a sign under the figures.

Moving forward to get a better look at the words, Makoto pointed to the affects. "The affects of this hot spring are success in love." I read. "The couple that enters this hot spring together will be...united eternally." I glanced back at Makoto, who was nervously pressing her index fingers together, her face still a deep red. "I didn't think you-" she quickly and suddenly closed the gap between us. Surprise overtook me as she pressed her lips against mine.

Once she pulled away, I touched my lips. "I didn't think you thought of me in that way."

Makoto had her head bowed a bit as she looked up at me. I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "I have no idea what to-" Makoto kissed me again, but this time, I leaned into it.

Minutes later

Makoto and I didn't go any further than kissing before leaving the hot spring. Grabbing our towels, we dried off and went back to our room. I put on my pants as Makoto got dressed.

Grabbing the roll of bandages, Makoto gently took the from me. She began wrapping them around me. "Thanks."

She was done in under a minute, allowing me to put the rest of my clothes on. As I pulled my shirt over my head, Daenerys walked in. "We need to visit hot springs more often."

End of chapter 14


	15. Chapter 15

Shield Hero: A New Hero

Chapter 15

The following day

Hooking Daenerys up to the carriage, I glanced back at the hot springs. "We're gonna have to come back here some time." I said as I climbed onto the carriage.

"I wouldn't mind that." Daenerys said.

Taking the reins, Daenerys led us out of the village and began following the road. "Alright, lets-" I was interrupted as a pigeon suddenly flew down in front of me. The pigeon stared at me as it flew in place. "Strange..."

Makoto joined my side, holding her hand out to the bird. It landed on her index finger as Makoto pulled it close, gently taking something that was tied to its left leg before letting it fly off. She handed it to me, and I realized it was a small piece of paper.

Unrolling it, I began to read.

_"Hey, Merc_

_I'm sure no one's told you, but there's something called a class upgrade for your party once they reach level 40. You can get one at any dragon hourglass._

_I don't know much about it since the one in Melromarc doesn't allow the Shield Hero's party to get it and since you're basically a brother to me, I highly doubt they'll let you either. Head to a different dragon hourglass so you don't waste your time, man._

_See you during the next wave._

_-Naofumi"_

Folding the paper, I placed it in my pocket. "Thanks for the heads up, man." I glanced at Daenerys and Makoto's levels, seeing they were both level 40, before turning to Makoto. She was sitting on her knees, her hands resting on her thighs. "Do you know where another dragon hourglass is?" I asked her.

She placed her index finger on her chin as she thought. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "Maybe we should head back to Melromarc and ask that weapons owner about the other hourglasses. Maybe he'll even provide a map."

"Melromarc?" Daenerys groaned. "I hate that place."

"I know." I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. "That bitch princess and her shit father don't exactly make me jump at the idea of heading back there, either." I sighed. "But, it's the only place we can go that'll give us, somewhat, reliable intel."

Daenerys groaned again. "Fine!" she began following the road. As we moved, she kept muttering under her breath.

Leaning back, I let out a sigh.

A day later

Finally making it back to Melromarc, we entered through the gates and parked. Hopping down to unhook Daenerys, I noticed one of her scales had fallen off. Picking it up, I looked it over, admiring how warm it felt.

I was about to toss it, when an idea popped into my head. Pulling out my dagger, I fed the scale to the jewel. Once I did, a menu popped up showing a lot of potential new skills.

The name of the skill section is: Dragon Curse.

Scrolling through a few of the skills, I noticed I wasn't a high enough level for a least half of them. But the ones that stuck out were Blazing Dagger, Cursed Blade and Dragon's Mark.

"Hm." closing the menu, I sheathed my weapon and began heading for the weapons shop. Walking inside, I saw the man standing behind the counter.

"Mercury!" he smiled. "How can I help ya?"

"Hey, I got a message from a carrier pigeon about class upgrades." I told him.

"I assume the shield hero sent you it?" he asked. "Yeah, you can upgrade your party, once they reach level 40, at any dragon hourglass."

"He mentioned that." I placed a hand on my hip. "He also said that because me and him are good friends, the people in charge of the hourglass here, or whatever, won't let my party get the upgrades."

"He's probably right." the shop owner said. "It'd probably be best if you head to Siltvelt."

"Siltvelt?"

"It's population there are demi-humans." the shop owner continued. "They also worship the Shield hero. Since you're good friends with Shield bro, it'll probably be your best bet."

"Demi-human ruled _and _they worship Naofumi?" I smiled. "You wouldn't happen to have a map, would ya?"

"Actually..." he crouched down for a second before popping back up, the map in his hand. "Here."

Taking it from him, I laid it out on the counter. "So, Siltvelt is the neighboring country, or something?" I asked.

"It's actually two countries over." he replied. "It shouldn't be too difficult for you to get there."

"Shouldn't be, huh?" I folded the map and put it away. "Well, guess we should be on our way. Thanks, man." I turned around and saw Makoto looking over a helmet, while Daenerys was watching her. Clearing my throat, Makoto looked at me.

Gesturing to the helmet, she went to put it back but dropped it, causing a rack of swords to topple over. She tried to pick a few up but dropped them in her rush. "I'll take care of it. You guys get going." the shop owner said.

Glancing at the shopkeep, I said a quick apology before gesturing for Makoto and Daenerys to leave. Following them out, we walked over to the carriage. "Alright." Daenerys changed into her dragon form so I could hook her up. "We're heading to Siltvelt."

"Merc?" I heard a familiar voice say, a voice I really didn't want to hear again.

"Motoyasu." I said while I finished hooking Daenerys up. "I thought I told you that only my friends get to call me that." I turned to face him, crossing my arms. "What do you want?"

"Just curious about where you're headed." I looked passed him to see that bitch, Myne, standing a few feet away.

"Yeah, sure, I'll send you a post card." I climbed onto the carriage.

"Sir Motoyasu is-"

"I couldn't care less about what 'Sir Motoyasu', or you, have to say, Myne." I cut her off. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

"If you keep showing me disrespect, my father will-"

I glanced back at her with a smile. "Sweetie, I'm not scared of you or your father. So you can go ahead and tattle to daddy and tell him the big bad dagger hero was being a meanie." I mocked. "I don't plan on coming back here anyway. And, if the waves drag me back here, I won't be staying long."

"What's your deal?" Motoyasu asked.

"You don't want me to start on that list, Motoyasu." I turned my back to them. "Let's go, Daenerys."

Moving towards the gates, I was happy to finally be leaving this place for the last time.

End of chapter 15


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

(Author's note: I decided to change the point of view to a third person perspective. Hope you guys like the change)

With Melromarc behind them, Mercury, Makoto and Daenerys followed the map to Siltvelt. If this place was as good as he heard, he might make plans to stay for good. A place where he didn't have to deal with a piece of shit king, a bitchy princess, and the other heroes, besides Naofumi, sounded like paradise. He began to picture it, and hoped it was just as great a place as he imagined.

"Wouldn't it be faster if I flew us there?" Daenerys suddenly asked. "Going by carriage would take quite a bit of time."

"Yeah, but I don't think Makoto is ready for it yet." Mercury said as he looked back at his party member. She was leaning on the back of his seat, shaking her head at the idea.

Daenerys pouted a bit. "Mmm." she groaned.

"Besides," Mercury continued. "I was planning on stopping a few times to hunt. Maybe find a rare monster and harvest it for my dagger."

Daenerys seemed to cheer up a bit. "That wouldn't be too bad."

Hours later

Once the three of them made it out of the country, they entered a sort of sand biome. "Ugh." Mercury groaned.

"What is it?" Daenerys asked.

"Nothing. I just hate sand." Mercury replied.

"That's a weird thing to admit out of the blue." Daenerys said, confused. "There's no sand anywhere near."

Mercury cocked his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? You're literally walking on sand now."

Daenerys stopped and looked back at Mercury. "Did you hit your head? I'm still following the dirt path."

Mercury grew even more confused as he looked towards Makoto, whose hair was grey, showing her confusion as well. Looking back the way they came, everything was replaced by an endless sea of sand.

"Do you really not see any of this?" Mercury asked as he looked to Daenerys. However, Daenerys didn't reply. "Daenerys?"

She remained silent.

Getting off the carriage, Daenery still stared at the spot Liam was previously sitting. As for Makoto, she was frozen in place, leaning over the back of the seat.

"What the hell?" Mercury said softly.

"You are the one..." a mysterious female voice echoed. "The fifth hero that was never meant to be..."

Mercury cautiously took a step away from the carriage, only for it to be eaten by a cloud of sand and vanish, leaving Mercury alone. "Daenerys! Makoto!" Mercury shouted.

"You are a special one..." the woman's voice continued. "To exist where one shouldn't exist. You're being here has thrown things..." the sand blew away, leaving Mercury on a skinny piece of wood that was teetering on the tip of a pointed rock. Far below him was a pit of darkness. And before him, a giant woman with black hair and a red dress appeared, towering over Mercury. "...out of balance." using her index finger, she flicked the wooden beam, sending Mercury falling to the pits below.

After a few seconds, Mercury landed on a slope of sand, tumbling down it for what felt like ages before coming to a stop face first in the sand. Pushing himself up, the woman, now as tall as Mercury, approached him. "You should never have existed in this place. And yet, here you are."

"Who are you?" Mercury asked, clenching his fists.

The woman smiled as she reached him. Placing a hand on Mercury's chest, the woman slowly circled him, tracing a finger across his chest, shoulders and face.

"I am simply interested in this unforeseen turn of events."

As if his motions weren't his own, Mercury quickly drew his dagger and stabbed the woman. However, she vanished in a cloud of sand. "Don't disappoint me, Dagger hero."

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Mercury looked over to see Makoto staring at him. Looking around, he saw the he was back on the dirt path leading away from Melromarc.

"You okay?" Daenerys asked.

"Y-yeah..." Mercury nodded. "Let's keep moving."

Daenerys nodded before continuing down the path.

Looking at his hand, he held onto a handful of sand. Out of curiosity, Mercury pulled out his dagger, feeding the sands to the jewel on the hilt.

Before his eyes, a new section of abilities unlocked. The title of the new skill tree was "The Dagger of Time."

End of chapter 16


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Dagger of Time?" Mercury read the words in a whisper. "Who was that woman? And why appear now?" these were questions that Mercury wanted answers to.

Tapping the skill tree, the related abilities appeared before him.

Recall.

Slow.

Sandstorm.

Premonition.

"Only four?" Mercury said to himself. "That's pretty low compared to the other skill trees..."

Equipping the related dagger, a line of sand twirled around the weapon changing its look to a slightly longer blade with engravings. The hilt had a jewel imbued just below the blade and the weapon itself looked a bit ancient in design.

A small cartridge was held in the hilt, sand twirling like a mini whirlwind inside it. Mercury was actually rather fond of the design.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he glanced over to see Makoto leaning over the seat, her hair grey. Pointing at the dagger, Mercury held it up slightly. "This?"

Makoto nodded.

"I just got it." Mercury said. "I'm not sure what it can do, yet."

Putting the dagger away, Mercury leaned back. Looking forward, Mercury saw a village off the path to their right. "Daenerys."

"Hmm?" Daenerys looked back.

Let's stop at that village to get something to eat. I'd also bet that there's a few things we might be able to do for some coin."

"'Kay."

Turning down the path on the right, it wasn't long before they reached the village.

Hopping off the carriage after parking, Mercury unhooked Daenerys who changed back to her human form. While Mercury grabbed a few spare items from the back, Daenerys noticed something a bit off about the village.

"Mercury?" Daenerys said, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" he asked while continuing to grab the items.

"Where is everybody?"

Looking around, Mercury realized the village was rather quiet. No one was on the streets, not even a stray cat or dog.

Pulling out his weapons, Mercury felt a sudden wave of uneasiness. "Keep your guard up." he told his party. "Something isn't right."

Moving cautiously through the village, Mercury noticed one of the building's doors was knocked off its hinges. Along with the knocked down door was a bloodied body of a grown woman.

"What happened?" Daenerys asked.

"I don't know." Mercury said as Makoto's hair turned a bright purple, showing she was nervous.

Heading over to the door, Mercury knelt down, putting away one if his daggers and placing his hand on the back of the woman. Getting a better look at her, he saw she was a Demihuman with a pair of cat ears and tail.

As he stared at the woman's body, Mercury activated the skill "recall."

Suddenly, a ghost like vision appeared before his eyes, showing what had happened. Time seemed to go backwards as the events reversed, showing the woman had been thrown through the door, knocking the door off its hinges. Following the vision, he saw she was stabbed in the chest by someone who jumped out from the shadows.

As the vision continued to reverse, Mercury saw she was running from a group of bandits holding weapons high above them.

Suddenly, the vision stopped.

After a second, the vision played normally, ending with the woman being stabbed and thrown through the door of this building.

"The village was attacked by bandits." Mercury said.

"How do you know that?" Daenerys asked.

"It's a new ability." Mercury replied. "It showed me what had happened." he stared down at the woman's body.

"We should move on." Daenerys said. "I have a bad feeling about this place."

"Yeah, I-" a sudden gut feeling shot through Mercury like a bullet. Grabbing Makoto's arm, Mercury pulled her into the building as an arrow flew by where she was standing, hitting the wall on the other end of the room.

Next, Mercury quickly pushed Daenerys out of the way, getting an arrow in the shoulder. Ignoring the pain, Mercury retreated into the building. Leaning against the wall, Mercury groaned in pain as he ripped the arrow out of his shoulder, throwing it to the ground. "Daenerys!"

Rushing inside, Makoto drew her blade as Daenerys tried to peek out, only for a third arrow to hit the doorframe right beside her head. Quickly hiding behind cover, she wanted to change into her dragon form, but the room was too small.

"Get out here!" they heard a man's voice shout. "We'll make it painless!"

Glancing out, a fourth arrow was shot, cutting Mercury's cheek right under his left eye. Touching the wound, blood coated his index and middle fingers on his left hand.

Pinned with no long range weapons, Mercury opened his skill tree. Seeing his new skills, he looked at the descriptions. Slow allowed him to slow everything but himself, and sandstorm allowed him to move faster than physically possible for only a few seconds.

Coming up with a plan, Mercury closed his menu.

"I got this." he told his party.

"What're you going to-"

"Once there's an opening, I'm gonna need you to transform, Daenerys." Mercury told her.

Peeking outside, a large group of bandits approached the building Mercury, Makoto and Daenerys hid in.

"Hand over your valuables and we'll spare your lives." the bandit leader said.

Keeping quiet, Mercury readied his dagger. Activating his 'slow' skill, Mercury dashed outside. Slashing the throats of the bandits closest to their leader, he wrapped his arm around the leader's neck, pressing his blade hard against his back as his skill wore off.

The other bandits were shocked at their dead comrades and leader taken hostage, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

"Back off!" Mercury growled as he pulled the leader away from the bandits.

"How-?"

"Shut up!" Mercury cut the leader off as he moved his blade from the leader's back to his throat. "I swear to God, I'll kill this bastard!"

Suddenly, Daenerys rushed out, transforming into her dragon form and launching a column of fire into the sky to intimidate the other bandits.

Makoto quickly joined in, her weapon at the ready.

As he held the leader captive, Mercury counted eight bandits with one or two hiding in the trees.

"Daenerys, kill them." he told her.

Instead of arguing like last time, Daenerys pulled her head back and launched a column of fire at the bandits, cooking six of them alive. The other two tried to make a run for it, but Daenerys trapped them under her talons.

At this point, the leader wiggled out of Mercury's grasp. Turning around, he pulled out a small blade, attempting to stab Mercury. Grabbing the bandit leader's arm, Mercury stabbed the leader in his throat.

"That was dumb." Mercury said as he cleaned off his blade. Sheathing it, Makoto and Daenerys returned with Daenerys shifting back to her human form.

"The rest are dead." Daenerys told Mercury. She may have been reluctant to kill before, but now she didn't hesitate when it came to the safety of her friends.

Mercury didn't respond as he knelt down to loot the dead bandit leader. Finding a coin purse attached to his belt, Mercury took it and had a look inside.

Filled almost to the brim were shiny golden coins.

"Nice." Mercury chuckled to himself as he took the coin purse as his own.

Heading back to the carriage, Mercury suddenly frowned. "We'll have to tell the king about what happened here. I'd bet this village is in his kingdom." he hooked Daenerys up to the carriage.

Makoto sat down in the back of the carriage, clearly just as pissed about having to go back to Melromarc. "Damnit!" Mercury punched the empty spot beside him.

"Why not just continue to Siltvelt?" Daenerys asked.

Looking towards the village, Mercury sighed. "Screw it. Screw Melromarc. I doubt that shitty king'll do something other than shrug his shoulders and leave it at that. That whole kingdom hates Demihumans, so I highly doubt he'd do something about this. Keep following the path."

Daenerys nodded before doing as told. However, as the carriage began to move, she looked back at Mercury. "How did you know to push me and Makoto out of the way?"

End of chapter 17


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Mercury rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not entirely sure myself." he said, answering Daenerys' question. "I just had this sudden gut feeling."

"Gut feeling?" Daenerys repeated.

"It's kinda hard to explain." Mercury said. "I just kind of... knew."

"Uh-huh..."

Following the path, the darkness of night slowly began to fall. Yawning, Mercury began to fight to stay conscious, as did Daenerys.

Glancing into the back of the carriage, Makoto was out cold, sitting against the wall with her arms around her legs and her face burried.

"Hey, what'dya say we call it?" Mercury said.

Daenerys yawned as she pulled the carriage into an opening off to the side of the path. Hopping off the carriage, Mercury unhooked Daenerys. Changing into her human form, the two hopped into the back. Daenerys laid down behind the seat of the carriage as Mercury sat next to Mercury.

As his eyes slowly closed, Makoto shifted her body, resting her head on his lap. Pushing a strand of Makoto's hair behind her ear, Mercury let his eyes close.

The following day

Back to traveling, Mercury couldn't help but sigh. He was used to having something to do, and with the next wave getting closer each day, he was beginning to get anxious. It would still be a while before the wave occured, but Mercury wanted to use this time to build his skills. However, that proved difficult, thanks to that king and his bitch of a daughter. Sure he didn't run into them much, but just thinking about what they did to Naofumi fueled Mercury with hate for the two.

Running a hand through his hair, Mercury sighed softly. "Mercury?"

"Yeah?"

"We have a problem." Daenerys told him.

Looking forward, a single hooded figure stood on the path. "Slow up, Daenerys." Mercury told her. "Let's see what they have to say. And if it's a trap, we'll deal with it."

"Okay."

Coming to a stop in front of the figure, Mercury slowly hopped off his carriage, dagger in hand.

"I intend you no harm." the figure said. Their voice sounded more on the feminine side, but Mercury couldn't tell if they were actually male or female, their clothes hiding their identity and sex. "So you can put down your weapon."

Mercury glanced down at his dagger before looking at the, presumed, woman. "Give me a reason to."

The woman bowed her head. "Very well." reaching into her cloak, the woman pulled out a blade, placing it on the ground.

Mercury, still on edge, slowly put his dagger away. "What do you want?"

"You're the Shield Hero's friend, correct? The new Dagger Hero?"

"That depends. Who's asking?" he crossed his arms.

"The Queen of Melromarc."

End of chapter 18


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"I want nothing to do with Melromarc or anyone that's part of the royal family." Mercury growled. "My friend has been put through too much shit because of them."

"I am aware of this and so is the Queen." the woman said. "I've been ordered not to get in your way if you wish to continue on your path. Once you pass me, you'll enter the neighboring country to Melromarc."

"Great. Then get out of my way." Mercury growled.

The woman shook her head. "First, I must inform you."

"Inform me of what?" Mercury asked.

"The Queen of Melromarc will be returning soon." the woman replied. "She wishes to have a conference with you and the Shield Hero."

"Why?"

"It is not my place to question the Queen. Only to serve." the woman said. "Her intentions aren't to harm either of you. That much I know."

"Real reassuring." Mercury narrowed his eyes. "Not interested." he turned around to climb onto the carriage.

The woman bowed her head. "I understand your reluctance. But it's in your best interest to hear what the Queen has to say when she returns. It involves you and the Shield Hero." looking back at the woman, she was suddenly gone along with the weapon she had laid on the ground.

"My best interest." Mercury repeated. "The hell do you know?"

Thinking about the woman's words, Mercury clenched his fists before punching the side of the wagon. "Damnit!"

"What's wrong?" Daenerys asked.

"We have to go back to Melromarc." he said through gritted teeth. "God DAMNIT!" he punched the carriage again. "Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!" placing his head against the carriage, Mercury sighed. "It wouldn't matter if we made it to Siltvelt. Once the next wave hits, we'd be right back in Melromarc. We'd have to spend even more time getting back to Siltvelt. Fuck!"

Sighing, Mercury unhooked Daenerys.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"We've wasted too much time." Mercury replied. "We can't waste more time walking back."

"You mean-?"

"We're flying back." Mercury said.

Minutes later

Sitting on Daenerys' back, with Makoto clinging to Mercury, Daenerys launched into the sky. Soaring through the clouds, Mercury wasn't as scared as he was when he first flew with Daenerys. In fact, his anger quickly faded, replaced by euphoria. He loved the feeling of flying.

As for Makoto, her eyes were clenched shut, her hands gripping Mercury's clothing with her face buried in his back.

Letting out a bit if laughter, Daenerys heard Mercury.

An hour later

It wasn't long before Daenerys saw the capital of Melromarc far below them. Heading down, Daenerys placed her feet on solid ground.

Feeling their "ride" come to an end, Makoto quickly hopped off Daenerys. Laughing at Makoto, Mercury walked up behind her. "C'mon, it wasn't that bad."

Makoto responded by slapping Mercury's arm. Laughing, it was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Mercury? That you?" looking back, Itsuki stood a few feet away. "That is you."

"Itsuki." Mercury said, his joy quickly fading. Itsuki's party stood behind him.

"How've you been?" Itsuki asked. "It's been a while since we last spoke."

"That's cuz we haven't spoken." Mercury told him.

"Why don't we chat a while?" Itsuki asked. "I just got back from a quest, and it seems you did as-"

"Not interested." Mercury cut him off.

As he went to walk by Itsuki and his party, a memory flashed through his mind of when Itsuki and Ren stood up for Naofumi after his duel with Motoyasu. Because of this, Mercury rubbed the back of his neck.

"Fine." he sighed. "But I won't stick around long so make it quick."

"Aren't you bossy?" Itsuki said jokingly. "C'mon. I know a good place with decent food and quests."

"Lead the way."

Following Itsuki to a neat little tavern, the two, along with their parties, walked inside. Sitting at a table in the back, Mercury crossed his arms.

"What'd you want to talk about?"

"Right to the point, huh?" Itsuki smirked. "Alright. I mainly wanted to know about your dagger."

Mercury pulled out his weapon. "What about it? It's just like your bow or Ren's sword."

"That's not true." Itsuki replied. "You see, you weren't there for it, but me, Ren, Naofumi and Motoyasu were talking the first night we were in this world. You decided to head off to bed, and we figured Naofumi would fill you in."

"Fill me in?"

"You see, me, Ren and Motoyasu all played games similar to this world." Itsuki explained. "In each game there were only four classes to choose from. Shield. Spear. Bow. And sword. Which makes me wonder, why are you here with a dagger? It doesn't exactly add up."

Mercury shrugged. "If you want information about my dagger, I hope you're willing to compensate."

Itsuki chuckled. "Alright. What would you like for the info?"

"A hundred silver and ten gold." Mercury crossed his arms.

Itsuki gawked at the amount. "That's way too much!"

"You just said that the dagger shouldn't exist." Mercury said. "Something that shouldn't exist like this would be rather expensive, wouldn't you agree?"

Itsuki, after taking a moment to think it over, closed his eyes as he shrugged. "You make a valid point, Mercury." Reaching into his bag, Itsuki handed over the requested coin. "A hundred silver and ten gold."

"Thanks." Mercury pocketed the coin. "What do you wanna know?"

"What can your dagger do?"

"Well, rather recently, I unlocked a time related skill tree."

"Time related?" Itsuki repeated.

"Yeah. I can sense when something is about to happen. Slow down time. Recall past events. And speed myself up for a flurry of attacks." Mercury told him.

"Must be a dagger skill tree exclusive." Itsuki said. "I haven't found anything like that, and I've unlocked quite a few skill trees."

"I can also teleport to my dagger if I activate a certain skill then throw it." Mercury said. "Most of my other abilities are rather basic. Like igniting my blade in fire, ice, etc."

"Still, it sounds like your dagger holds quite a few skills that the rest of us don't have." Itsuki said.

Mercury leaned back. "That's about everything." Mercury said.

"I gave you a lot of coin for that?!" Itsuki growled. "That was-"

"I believe in fair trade." Mercury said. "Once I learn more about my weapon, I won't charge you again for any intel you'll want to know. Just find me and I'll answer any questions on your mind."

Itsuki sat back. "Alright."

"We have a deal then." Mercury stood up. "See ya around, Itsuki."

End of chapter 19


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The next day, I slowly walked through Melromarc. Glancing around at some of the people I passed by, most of them shot me dirty looks. It seems my friendship with Naofumi has finally given me a bad rep. Oh well. It's not like I care about this country's opinion anyway.

They can all burn. Starting with that redheaded bitch and her piece of shit father. Only reason why I even tolerate this place is because I know damn well they'd blame the Shield Hero if I caused trouble. Probably say some shit like "the Shield put him up to it."

"Merc?" a voice suddenly called out. "I thought you were leaving for good. What made ya change your mind?"

"Motoyasu..." I said softly. At this point, I began to not give a damn. Turning around, Motoyasu strolled up to me, placing his hand on my shoulder as if we were old friends reuniting. Hell, in his eyes, he probably saw it that way seeing as how he can't take a hint.

Looking at his hand as if it were contaminated, I glared at Motoyasu. Behind him stood Myne and the rest of his party.

"What d'you want, Motoyasu?" I asked.

"I was curious if you wanted to grab a quick drink with an old pal. Y'know, to celebrate your return." Motoyasu said.

Yep. I was a hundred percent right.

"We're not friends." I told him as I pushed his hand off my shoulder. "What is it you're looking to gain anyway?"

"I'm not looking to gain anything." Motoyasu replied.

"You should be honored sir Motoyasu even acknowledges your existence." Myne growled at me.

"Jesus Christ." I rubbed my forehead. "How can you deal with a banshee screeching in your ear all day, man? Get her ass a muzzle."

Myne grew infuriated by my insults. "What did you call me?!"

"Well, she isn't bad once you get to know her." Motoyasu said.

"Yeah, no, I believe that." I said with plenty of sarcasm. "I bet she has a heart o' gold. She won't steal my shit and claim I raped h- oh, wait."

"Naofumi did attempt to rape Myne!" Motoyasu growled. "She told me so!"

"Oh, because there hasn't been countless false rape claims to get guys in trouble before." I said as I crossed my arms. "Nah, not a single one. Wake the hell up, man."

"Naofumi is a criminal!" Motoyasu growled at me.

"You don't wanna believe me? Fine." I turned my back to him as I felt my blood begin to boil. "Don't say I didn't warn you when that two faced bitch stabs you in the back."

"Merc-" Motoyasu placed his hand on my shoulder.

In the blink of an eye, I drew my dagger and slashed his hand, splattering blood across the ground as he stepped away, clutching his fist. "Don't touch me again."

"What the hell, Merc?!" Motoyasu growled at me.

Myne stepped forward. "You dare strike sir Motoyasu?!"

I used my cloak to wipe the blood from my weapon. "Technically, he assaulted me first. What I did, simply put, was act in self defense."

Motoyasu glared at me. Drawing his spear, he held it at the ready. His eyes were narrowed, and he didn't seem to want to be friendly anymore. Figured it'd take this much to get the idiot to understand.

"I challenge you to a duel, Mercury!"

Closing my eyes, I twirled my dagger, holding it backwards. "Glad to see you are man enough to challenge someone other than Naofumi. This is going to be fun!" grinning, I hadn't felt this much joy since I was first summoned here.

End of chapter 20


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Glaring at each other, the civilians formed a cirlce around us as I prepared myself. Motoyasu twirled his spear a few times before pointing it at me, tauntingly.

Ignoring him, I looked back at Makoto and Daenerys. "This gonna be a one-on-one duel, Motoyasu?"

"Of course it is!" he growled in reply.

"Good." I locked eyes with my party. "If anyone in Motoyasu's party tries to intervene, I want you two to deal with them."

Makoto nodded her head firmly as she gripped the hilt of her sword. "Yes, sir!" Daenerys nodded as well.

Turning back to Motoyasu, I ignited my blade in fire as I pulled out my second dagger. After a beat, Motoyasu rushed me.

Moving back as he swung his spear at me, he twirled it above his head before stabbing at me four times in a row.

Dodging each attack, I wrapped my arm around his spear, yanking Motoyasu towards me and slashing my blade across his face.

Stumbling back, Motoyasu tapped the slash, glancing at his fingers before glaring at me.

"That's just the start." I told him. "Each slash you put on Naofumi, I'm going to double on you." I twirled my blades before taking a defensive stance. "I've been looking forward to this, Motoyasu."

"I tried to be nice!" Motoyasu growled.

"Yeah? Well I sure as shit don't remember asking you to be nice." I growled back.

Rushing him, Motoyasu tried to attack with his spear. Using my dagger to deflect his attack, I quickly closed the distance, slashing one blade across his left leg and the other across his chest.

Hearing the sound of a blade sliding out of its sheath, I glanced over to see Makoto with her weapon pointed directly at Myne. Daenerys was behind her, clearly ready to shift if things got dicey.

Smirking, I focused my attention to the duel at hand, only to be hit in the face by the hilt of the spear.

Stumbling away, Motoyasu swung his spear at my legs, knocking me onto my back. Seeing him prepare to stab me, I quickly rolled out of the way and pushed myself to my feet.

Motoyasu tried using his fast attack ability that he used on Naofumi, but I countered by using my Slow Time. Moving out of the way of his strikes, I slid behind him, pressing the tip of my blade against his neck just as time returned to normal.

Motoyasu froze for a second before hitting me with the butt of his spear. Holding my side as I stumbled back, I quickly recovered just as Motoyasu lunged at me.

Feeling the blade cut my side, blood poured from the wound as I took a few steps back to create a bit of distance. Looking at my hand, I took a deep breath to calm myself.

Readying my daggers, Motoyasu lunged at me. Stepping out of the way, I slashed his side as he went right passed me. Once he got his footing, he glared at me. Thrusting his spear in the air, fireball after fireball came out of it.

Dodging out of the way of each fireball, they impacted the nearby buildings, causing some pretty serious damage.

Once he stopped, I took the chance to rush in. Forcing him on the defensive, I kept up a flurry of attacks.

As he attempted to counter one of my attacks, I instead deflected his spear skywards, finishing the duel by slashing both of my daggers in an x motion across his chest.

Bleeding, Motoyasu slumped to his knees, using his spear to keep himself from falling over. Glaring down at him, Motoyasu stared up at me. Turning my back to him, I walked over to my party who still had their sights set on Motoyasu's group.

Locking eyes with Myne, she immediately began screeching. "You dare order your party to draw their weapons on me?! My father will hear of-"

"I won the duel." I told my party. "We're done here."

Makoto sheathed her sword before her and Daenerys followed me.

"We are far from done, Dagger Hero!" Myne snapped. "Once my father hears what you've done, he'll-!"

"He'll what, Myne?" I growled as I turned to face her. "I'm a hero. He can't imprison me. What exactly will your father do, huh?" Myne kept silent. "Your threats mean shit to me." I then turned to Motoyasu. "Let me know when you want another duel." I turned around and began walking away. "I'll be happy to put you in the dirt again."

Passing by countless civilians, none of them shot me any disgusted looks, those now having been replaced by awe.

I beat the Spear Hero in a fair duel and only suffered minor damage. It felt good to finally get payback for what he did to Naofumi. And I knew Myne was gonna try to help him once she noticed he was losing. Good thing I told Makoto and Daenerys to make sure she didn't.

With all this behind me, hopefully Motoyasu got it through his head that we are the furthest thing from friends. In fact, I hope he sees me as his enemy now.

Hell, screw Melromarc. Screw the king, Myne and everyone in between. Coming back was a waste of time. The only thing I accomplished was fighting Motoyasu. That alone made this clusterfuck of a return worth it.

In all honesty, this country can burn. And if I was offered to be the one to ignite the match, I'd do so in a heartbeat.

"Daenerys!" I said without looking back at her.

"Y-yes?"

"How fast could you get us to Siltvelt? We're done here. For good this time."

End of chapter 21


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

A few hours later

Landing a few meters from a large city, I hopped off Daenerys and proceeded to help Makoto down. "This has to be the place." I said softly. Pulling out the map the weapon shop owner, Erhard, gave me, I confirmed this was indeed Siltvelt.

Approaching the city's gate, I was stopped by two armed demi-humans. "What are you doing here, human?" one asked.

Holding up my hands, I quickly calmed the situation. "I'm a good friend of Naofumi Iwatani, the current Shield Hero. My name is Mercury Takamaki, the Dagger Hero."

The two guards glanced at one another before looking back towards me. "We had heard rumors that someone was summoned alongside the Shield Hero. You're him?"

"Yep..." I said slowly. "I heard Siltvelt praised the Shield Hero over the other heroes. I came here because of that."

"Why not bring the Shield Hero with you?"

"Because I don't know where he is." I replied. "I would've asked him to come, but he's doing his own thing to prepare for the next wave. If I could, I'd prefer to stay here for that, but I'll be teleported back to Melromarc once it arrives." Hearing this, the two guards shared uncertain looks. "What is it?"

"Did no one tell you?"

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"The Dragon Hourglass is what teleports the heroes." one of the guards said.

"When a hero registers at an hourglass, they are teleported to it once a wave begins." the other continued.

"The king never mentioned that." I said as I crossed my arms.

"Not surprising." one of them said.

"Each kingdom agreed to summon one hero each. However, since there are five kingdoms and only four heroes, one kingdom would have to survive without a hero for one wave." the other added.

"Melromarc was supposed to be the first without a hero."

"But instead the king summoned all of the heroes, ignoring the agreement."

"Sounds like something that prick would do." I said softly. "Bastard!" looking to both of the guards, an idea popped into my head. "Is there a way for me to register to a different hourglass?"

"Yeah. It's simple, actually."

"What if I register to the one here and help Siltvelt in the next wave?" I asked.

The two guards shared another glance. "You'll have to ask the ones in charge."

Minutes later

Led to the capital by one of the two guards, I followed him into a room where four demi-humans sat behind a large counsel table. Behind each demi-human was another that seemed to be their chosen right hand or something like that.

Being noticed almost immediately, the four demi-humans stopped talking to face me. "Who is this human?" one of them asked.

Bowing my head respectfully, I spoke my name. "Mercury Takamaki, Dagger Hero and close friend of Naofumi Iwatani."

The demi-humans began whispering to one another. After a few seconds, they each fell silent. "You're friends with the current Shield Hero?" one of them asked.

"I am." I nodded. "I was summoned here alongside him."

"Why isn't he here with you?" one of the others asked.

"I don't know where he is, otherwise I would have offered to bring him with me." I answered.

"What do you seek to gain from coming here?"

"I want to register to the Dragon Hourglass here and help Siltvelt with the oncoming Waves of Catastrophe." I replied. "Melromarc is...it's a cruel kingdom led by a cruel man. It branded my friend a criminal, and everyone turned their backs on him. I refuse to protect a place like that."

The demi-humans seemed to smile at my words.

"With your permission, I wish to register here, in Siltvelt."

An hour later

With the leaders in agreement, I was allowed to register in Siltvelt. As Naofumi's friend, I'm glad to see he wasn't entirely hated by everyone in this world. Even if he was, I'd still be right beside him.

Approaching the Dragon Hourglass, a green beam shot out from the jewel on my weapon. Once it vanished, a number appeared showing just over two weeks before the next wave.

With my party behind me, it was time to get the class upgrades Naofumi had mentioned.

"You're going to let us choose?" Daenerys asked.

"Well, yeah." I placed a hand on my hip. "Why wouldn't I?"

Smiling, Daenerys and Makoto approached the hourglass. After a few seconds, a message appeared in front of me asking if I wanted to choose their classes. Selecting "no" a few more seconds passed before Daenerys and Makoto walked back to me.

Makoto seemed pleased, but Daenerys had her gaze to the floor. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"It wouldn't let me choose." Daenerys said.

"What?"

"It said I was already assigned a pre-determined class." she told me. "The, uh, first Dragon Queen class."

End of chapter 22


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

(A/N: I'm going to switch the POV to the third person. Hope you guys like the change)

"Dragon Queen?" Mercury repeated. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know." Daenerys shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you mighta known what it was."

"I got no clue." Mercury told her. "Maybe it's exclusive to you?"

"It's not what I wanted..." Daenerys sunk her shoulders. "But it does seem to have some good skills." she quickly perked back up.

Turning towards Makoto, Mercury placed a hand on his hip. "You pick the class you wanted?" he asked her.

Makoto nodded her head with a content smile.

"Alright." Mercury turned towards the door. "Let's find a place to stay the night."

"That won't be necessary." a new voice said, getting their attention.

Turning towards the source, a female demi-human wearing black robes stood a few feet away. "I was instructed to show you to your new house."

"House?" Mercury repeated.

"Indeed." the woman nodded. "If you're going to be staying here, the higher ups went ahead and prepared a home for you and your companions."

Makoto looked to Mercury while Daenerys' eyes widened at the news.

"I will escort you to your new home whenever you're ready." the woman added.

Mercury slowly rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks but I don't really think that's necessary."

The woman waved her hand back and forth, dismissing Mercury's statement.

"They insisted." she told him. "As a good friend of the Shield Hero, they wanted to make you feel welcomed."

Daenerys and Makoto both stared at Mercury, waiting for his answer.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to check the place out."

The woman smiled as she placed her hands together. "Excellent. Please, follow me."

Walking with the woman, she led Mercury further into Siltvelt where the more wealthy people live. Passing by countless mansions, the four continued down a dirt path.

At the end of the path was a mansion much larger than the rest. A giant fountain sat in the middle of a patch of grass with the dirt path circling it.

Walking right up to the front door, the woman stopped and held a key out to Mercury.

"Your new home."

Taking the key, Mercury was at a loss for words. "I, heh, I... This is all mine..?"

"Indeed." the woman nodded. "You should find everything to your liking."

With that, the woman began to walk back the way they came.

Mercury was dumbfounded. He had never lived in such a luxurious place before. His family back home was always living paycheck to paycheck so this was definitely a welcome change.

Putting the key into the lock, Mercury gave it a turn before opening the set of double doors. He was met with a large room that had a grand staircase leading upstairs with a hallway on both the right and the left. On the lower floor, the right passage led to the kitchen while the left led to the massive living room.

There were hallways on either side of the main entance with rows of rooms lining them. At the ends of both halls were spiral stairways leading to the second floor.

Stepping inside, Daenerys couldn't contain her excitement as she began bolting around like a child on Christmas day. Makoto stood in awe, her mouth agape as she looked around from the countless paintings to the massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"This place is huge!" Daenerys exclaimed.

Focused on Daenerys, Mercury didn't notice the footsteps that approached him from his right.

"Sir, Takamaki." a woman's voice said softly, drawing Mercury's attention.

Looking to his right, two maids, both demi-humans, one appearing to be a tiger with a set of ears and tail and bright orange hair that flowed down to the center of her back, and the other being a wolf with grey hair that ended just below her shoulders.

Mercury placed a hand on his hip. "Who're you?"

"We're the maids that were hired to keep this mansion in tip top condition!" the wolf demi-human said with a nod.

The tiger folded her hands in front of her as she bowed. "Forgive her informal behaviour. She hasn't had much practice." standing upright, the tiger placed a hand to her chest. "My name is Fiona Everdeen." she then gestured to the wolf. "And this is-"

"Kyrie Silva!" she said proudly. "At your service!"

Fiona closed her eyes as she shook her head with a soft sigh.

"I didn't hire maids..." Mercury told them.

"The higher ups hired us, sir." Fiona told him, folding her hands in front of herself once more. "We were instructed to keep this mansion clean and to do as you said. They want you to be as comfortable as possible."

"Well, I am quite-"

"I've finished cutting the bushes." a new voice said as a human girl, no older than eighteen, walked into the room. Her uniform was messy and stained with dirt streaks. Completely different from Kyrie and Fiona's uniforms. Her blonde hair was covered in dirt with a few leaves and branches tangled in it as well.

As soon as she made her appearance, Mercury felt the tone in the room shift as the other two maids glared at the human girl.

"Did you make sure the bathrooms were clean?" Kyrie growled at the girl.

"I...I cleaned them when we arrived..." the blonde haired girl nervously fidgeted.

"Then clean the kitchen!" Kyrie growled.

Seeing Mercury standing in the room, the girl slowly approached. "Is he the Dagger Hero?"

Before Kyrie or Fiona could speak, Mercury stepped forward and passed the two maids. "I am." he said with a warm smile. "I'm Mercury Takamaki." extending his hand, the girl flinched. Noticing this, Mercury's brow furrowed, wondering why she was so timid.

Reaching out to take his hand, the blonde girl shook it. Her grip was delicate, as if she was holding a feather.

"My name is Christine Valentine."

Taking a step back from Christine, Mercury realized just how tired she was. She looked exhausted and on the verge of collapse. She had bags under her bright green eyes, and her knees wobbled ever so slightly.

"You look tired." Mercury told her. "Why don't you shower and get some rest?"

Christine shook her head at the offer. "I still have so much to do and-"

"That can wait." Mercury interrupted her. "You won't get any work done if you're eyes won't stay open. Besides, you have colleagues that can help you out. They'll finish what you need to get done. As for now, get some rest. You look like you earned it."

Christine stared into Mercury's eyes. "Are you sure, master Takamaki?"

Mercury nodded his head. "You don't have to call me that, by the way. You could just call me Mercury."

Smiling at his kindness, Christine turned around to do as he said.

Once she was gone, Mercury glanced back at the other maids. "Could one of you show me around?" he asked.

End of chapter 23


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Having been given a tour of the massive mansion, Mercury decided to take a few days off to further familiarize himself with his new home. Makoto and Daenerys already took a liking to the place, having quickly gone in search for their own rooms.

As for the three maids, they told Mercury that they now lived here as well. Each one had their own room. Fiona and Kyrie showed Mercury to their rooms so he knew where to find them when they finished their work.

However, they didn't bother showing him which room was Christine's. He was curious as to why, but that was quickly thrown away when a knock from the front door echoed throughout the mansion.

Arriving at the door before the maids, Mercury opened it. Before him was a fox demi-human male with a gorgeous female demi-human that looked to be his daughter.

"Can I help you?" Mercury asked.

The male, who was dressed in the finest nobleman attire, took off his hat respectively. "Are you the Dagger Hero? Friend of the Shield Hero?"

Mercury instantly grew suspicious of the man. Narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms, Mercury spoke.

"That depends. Who's askin'?"

The man gestured towards his daughter who stepped up beside her father.

She wore a dark purple dress with matching gloves and boots that went up to her thighs. Her brown hair had clearly been brushed and tied back in a neat bun. Her lips were covered in black lipstick, and she had red blush on both of her cheeks as well as red eyeliner that complimented her blue eyes.

Mercury easily saw that a lot of work was done to make her look this presentable.

"This is my daughter, Satella Elsa-Linde." the man spoke.

The girl curtsied, bowing her head and closing her eyes. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Feeling this exchange was a bit too formal, Mercury casually leaned against the door. He didn't care for formalities. In all honesty, he despised them. It reminded him of that red headed bitch Myne and her fucking father. Always trying to be formal while dicking over Naofumi.

He hated it.

"You wanna cut to the chase and tell me why you're here?" Mercury asked.

He already suspected why the man and his daughter were here. Hell, her appearance practically shouted it.

The man wanted Mercury to take his daughter as his own in some sort of scheme to get close to the Shield Hero. Shit, almost every encounter he's had up to now has at least mentioned the Shield Hero.

From despising Mercury for being close to Naofumi, to this. Everything always seemed to include Naofumi.

Mercury didn't hate Naofumi for that, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't bring him some annoyance.

The man looked at his daughter. "My daughter really wanted to meet you, sir Hero." the man said.

"That so?" Mercury asked as he checked his nails. He didn't care about coming off as rude. "And why's that?"

Satella stepped forward. "I've been dying to meet you." she told him. "I've heard stories about each of the original four but you're completely new. No one knows a thing about you, and I was curious if I could talk to you and pick your mind a bit."

Her response seemed genuine, and Mercury could tell she wasn't lying. However, his eyebrows raised at Satella's father.

Grabbing his daughter's arm, he pulled her close to whisper into her ear. However, his voice was loud enough for Mercury to hear.

"What are you doing?!" her father whispered. "You were supposed to ask about the Shield Hero!"

Satella ripped her arm free from her father's grasp. "If you're so curious, ask him yourself!" she growled, not even attempting to be subtle or quiet.

Before their conversation could evolve into a full blown argument, Mercury cleared his throat, getting their attention.

"If you want you can come inside and I'll answer any questions you have."

Satella's eyes glistened at those words as her mouth opened in a wide smile.

"You mean it?!" her fox tail began wagging back and forth furiously.

"A few questions never hurt anyone." Mercury shrugged. "However," he looked to Satella's father. "You can wait outside."

The man was clearly unhappy about this, but he knew he couldn't do anything.

If he hadn't tried to use his daughter as a means of information gathering, Mercury would've been more than happy to invite both of them inside.

Following Mercury into the mansion, Mercury shut and locked the door before leading Satella towards the living-room. Sitting down on one of the three couches, Mercury say beside her.

The two faced each other.

"What'd you want to know?" Mercury asked.

Taking a deep breath, Satella began.

A few hours later

Talking well throughout the day, Satella was quite thorough when asking about Mercury's adventures. Fiona and Kyrie bought them food and drinks while they talked. Makoto and Daenerys wondered who she was but, when told, they went off to do their own thing.

"Your life sounds so exciting." Satella said. "I wish I could go on adventures like that."

"It has it's moments." Mercury said while taking a sip of his beverage. "Not all of them are good though."

"I'd bet." Satella said.

After talking for so long, her formal speech quickly disappeared and she began talking casually.

Running her index finger around the brim of her glass, Satella began fidgeting.

"I didn't come here just to talk." she told him. "I also came with a request."

"Request?" Mercury repeated.

"Ever since I was little, I dreamed about being a heroine." Satella began. "Saving the day and fighting off the bad guys. But, my life was already determined for me."

Mercury grew curious of the woman before him. Leaning forward, he silently begged to hear more.

"I was to be the bride of a man in a wealthy family." she said while gripping her cup with both hands. She let out a brief sigh. "And as soon as you arrived in Siltvelt, my family began grooming me." she gestured to the clothes she was currently wearing. "Said I had to look my best if I wanted a chance with one of the Cardinal Heroes."

Mercury grimaced at this.

"But I don't want to be someone's bride!" she slammed her glass onto the table by the couch. "I want to go on adventures! Fight to help people! Be something more than what my family wants!" taking a breath, she looked Mercury in the eyes. "So, my request, please let me join you on your adventures!"

Leaning back on the couch, Mercury didn't even need to think it over. His mind was already made up.

But he did have one question.

"Do you know how to use a sword?" he asked.

Satella's gaze fell to the floor. "No." after a few seconds, she looked Mercury in the eye with clear determination. "But I'm willing to learn."

End of chapter 24


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